Hurt
by illyrilex
Summary: A new King of Fighters tournament has arrived, and it's time for King's return to the ring after her harrowing experience. Her first-round opponent's a familiar face... and they have more in common than she thinks. Collab with Rex Madison. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Well, hello there! And here you probably thought I was, like... done for awhile. Nope. when I said I would write King until I died I meant it. **

**Anyway, there's a special surprise here; I'll tell you at the end. Onward~**

* * *

In a brightly-lit locker room at a sprawling arena, the female fighter known only as King stood with her hands on either side of one of the polished porcelain sinks, her eyes fixed intently on her reflection in the mirror. She had never been scared of things she could kick into submission and she sure as hell wasn't scared now.

But she was… something.

She pressed her lips together as her gaze lingered on a small scar on her forehead - a glaring reminder of the horrific incident that changed her forever. Her confidence in her abilities was shattered by what happened, and though she had regained it little by little over time, the fact of the matter was that this match was going to be her first _real_ test since… _it_… happened, the occasional bar fight notwithstanding. She averted her eyes, suddenly unable to look at herself.

"Bb?"

King jumped at the voice of her teammate-and-totally-platonic-lady-love, "Blue" Mary Ryan. The smaller woman stood near the edge of the room, her ridiculously toned arms crossed over her chest, concern written all over her lightly freckled face.

"I'm good," King stated as she quickly turned around. She fixed her hair so that it hid the scar before clearing her throat and bringing herself to her full height.  
"You're making that face."  
"What face?"  
"_That_ face - you know the one."  
"I am no -"  
"So -" Mary cut King off as she plucked her jacket from a nearby bench - "Like, do you _really_ expect me to believe that you're good right now when you're making that face?"  
"...No."  
"Okay, well what's up?"  
"I can't lose," King answered simply.  
"Pfft, why would you?! Everyone knows you can take her easily! _Easily_!"

King narrowed her eyes.

"I _know,_" she lamented, "I _know_ I can take her out, but -"  
"Bro. She doesn't have a gun -" Mary gently pointed out.  
"No, but -"  
"- and you're not going into this with a head injury. She's not gonna get the drop on you, so do what you do and get in close before she can start with the fireworks!"  
"You're right, and I intend to," King told Mary firmly. "I intend to show her - to show _everyone_ \- that I'm the leader of this team for a reason!"  
"That's the spirit! And, to think - you were having doubts about even entering."  
"You and Mai are very persuasive…"

"You guys!"

Almost as if summoned by the mention of her name, King and Mary's friend and teammate, Mai Shiranui, burst into the room, the ornate kimono she chose to wear for a dramatic entrance dragging behind her.

"They're about to announce us! We need to be ready literally right now!"  
"Come on, O' Fearless Leader -" Mary walked up to King and slung an arm over her shoulders - "Let's do this."

King nodded.

"Let's do this," she said - possibly more to herself than to her friends - as she forced every intrusive thought about the incident to the very back of her mind. She calmly walked with Mary as Mai hurriedly skipped a little ahead of them.

"Kingy," Mai started after a moment. "I know what you're thinking back there and you'll be fine. Just breathe."  
"Right now the only thing I'm thinking is that I'm _going_ to take this," King affirmed while adjusting her bowtie.  
"Don't worry - she's good," Mary chimed in.

"KING-SAN!"

The familiar voice of King and Mai's former teammate, Yuri Sakazaki, echoed through the long corridor as she sprinted toward the trio.

"Yuri!?" King instantly stopped in her tracks, surprised. "What -"  
"I wanted to wish you luck. I mean, all of you," Yuri explained, "But you especially."

King made a face. In the days leading up to the tournament Yuri had somehow decided that an actual, honest to god match would trigger her PTSD and cause her to suffer a brain-breaking relapse. The consideration was touching, but not helpful in _any_ sense of the word. Especially not _right before_ the fucking match!

"Thanks for the concern..."

King worried that she came across as insincere but it couldn't be helped; although she appreciated everyone looking out for her she was starting to become slightly annoyed with all of the uncertainty surrounding her state of mind. Nevertheless she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as she began to walk toward the exit.

"...But if you're going to worry about someone, worry about her."

###

In a backstage hallway on the other side of the arena, a young man waited quietly outside the locker room door. He had been patient, at first… but, as this was the _womens'_ locker room, he'd started to get dirty looks from some of the people entering. Or leaving. Or just passing by. After a while he stopped sheepishly trying to explain and ignored them, anxiously munching on a meat bun and wondering what was taking so long.

Finally, moments before she was due to perform, the equally-young woman he was waiting for came out of the room. He had meant to ask what kept her, but when he saw her outfit he choked on the words.

"...what do you think?" asked Athena Asamiya, giving her boyfriend a twirl.

This was their first tournament since they'd made it official, and she'd promised to wear something special. He was the first person to see what that meant: she had adopted his colors. She wore a blue miniskirt over short white tights, blue sneakers over dark blue socks, and a blue vest over a white, short-sleeved crop top. She even had dark blue armbands on, though hers were really just long - and, of course, fingerless - gloves.

"Guh," answered Sie Kensou, trying to remember how to breathe.  
"I thought you'd like it," Athena giggled, walking over to him and giving him a peck on the cheek. "I just wanted to remind people we're more than partners now, y'know?"  
"Well this sure does _that_," he assured her, a grin _and_ a blush on his face. He'd worn much the same thing, after all - his old blue jacket and white shirt with his new dragon-emblazoned blue shorts.

"It's almost like we're man and wife…!"  
"H-hold on now," Athena stammered, holding up her hands. "Nobody said anything about marriage. I'm not ready for _that_ yet."  
"I know, I know," Kensou chuckled. "But for now, this is _more_ than enough." He pulled her into a hug, his grin softening to a smile; she giggled again in response, nuzzling his neck with her own.

"...ay yai yai, you kids are going to kill me."

The two separated to find Master Chin down the hall, holding his head as he shook it. He'd gone with his traditional Chinese garb this year, looking very much the odd man out. "You two _do_ know why we're here, don't you?"

"Yes, Master Chin," they said in unison.  
"This is no silly exhibition. It's the King of Fighters," he lectured anyway. "And remember, the format is different this time. No more bailing each other out; it's just three matches, one-on-one. Are you ready?"  
"You know it, Teach!" Sie said with confidence.  
"Yes, Master," Athena said, without much.

Chin caught it and raised his eyebrows.

"Athena? Is there a problem...?"

There were a couple problems, actually. A _lot_ if one went back far enough. Athena's mostly-charmed life had taken some turns as of late. First and foremost, of course, was getting together with Sie… but then there was the kidnapping. The failure. The robbery that could have destroyed her. Worst of all, she'd started thinking she must be cursed - then found out she actually _was_.

But those weren't the problems tonight. Not really. The curse was gone, and with it her suffering; she'd already made her comeback. Now, with this King of Fighters, she was hoping for a return not to form, but to normalcy. She didn't think that was too much to ask… unless something went wrong _before_ the finals, of course.

No, the _real_ problem was her opponent this round. Supposedly she'd been acting "erratic" lately… and she was dangerous enough to begin with.

"...no, Master," said Athena, after a bit of a pause. "Just opening night jitters. I'll be fine once the show starts."  
"Hmph. Good. Alright then… let's do this."

As always, the Master let his pupils lead - and hoped they'd prove they deserved to.

* * *

_* First thing's first: You may have noticed a stylistic change here, and that's because... there are two authors all along! That's right, you guys, this is a collab between myself and our very own Rex Madison! We both realized that we've put our respective baes through hell, and after putting together a small snippet, we decided to go for an all-new project featuring both of our damaged ladies._

_* If you're new here you don't necessarily need to read our other stories, but our continuities kick off with Much Like Suffocating (me) and The Deal (Mads). Mine are pretty straightforward, but with Mads just, like, use the cover images as your guide, unless you're reading this on AO3. Then, like... go read. It's good stuff and you know you want to anyway ;)_

_* If you were like, "Huh?" when Chin had that line about three one-on-one matches, well, here's why he said that: In the manga, The King of Fighters: A New Beginning, that's the format that's being used for the tourney. So, like, we adopted it. Yeah._

_As for other notes, ummm... I really don't have any this time around. Weird, right? _

_Anyway, our updates probably won't be all that "regular" but, rest assured, we're in this 'til the end! Let us know your thoughts and feels, and stay tuned for more!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Well hello again! Mads and I have brought you all a totally unexpected, we're-probably-posting-this-way-too-soon update, but whatever. We've been very excited about getting it out there for you - yes, YOU! - to read! With that being said... **

**Onward~**!

* * *

The crowd in the arena was, in a word, massive. KOF always drew an impressive audience, but for some reason it seemed larger and more enthused than usual. King chalked the extra energy up to the draw of a famous pop star stepping into the ring; the kid had a lot of fans all over the world - surely they wanted to swoon over how multifaceted their idol was: she was an impossibly adorable singer, and a dancer, and a fighter… with supernatural powers.

However, none of that was going to do her a damn bit of good.

As King stood in the shadows of the battlegrounds she couldn't help but feel agitated; she was almost _overwhelmed_ by a sudden and intense _need_ to prove herself. She _had_ to show everyone that she was really okay - that she was really herself again (...mostly). And if that meant dislocating poor Asamiya's shoulder or breaking her cute little nose, then so be it.

Besides... she could heal that shit anyway.

King pressed her lips together, crossed her arms, and shifted her focus back to her surroundings: The announcer - a scantily clad woman with way too much pep - was excitedly addressing the audience while sports photographers and television crews ate up every second of it.

"All right, boys and girls - we've got three exciting matches for you today," the woman chirped. "Coming up soon, the perennial Kyokugen Team takes on the returning Team Mexico! Who'll come out on top in this battle of strength and wits? Then in the main event, it's a rivals' match between Team Korea and the _scary_ Villain's Team! Xanadu's promised something special for his teammates' old boss, so you won't want to miss this!

"But first," she went on, and the audience got a bit louder as they realized it was almost showtime. "Our beginning matchup is a clash of King of Fighters veterans! Each of these teams has only missed _one_ team-based K.O.F.! They've never won gold, though - "

(King narrowed her eyes a bit at that.)

" - so who'll be the ones to take that first step this year!? We're about to find out, folks! Entering first, we have three of the _loveliest_ ladies who've ever kicked somebody's teeth in!"

(Now her eyes rolled.)

"Hailing from France, Japan, and the U.S. of A., please welcome King, Mai Shiranui and 'Blue' Mary Ryan - Team Women Fighters!"

That was their cue, and Mai immediately took it: she stepped out of the shadows slowly, playing the part of the elegant beauty in her pristine kimono. It only lasted about five seconds, though, before she turned around and started to disrobe. Some first-time viewers actually gasped at that one - but before she could make things M-rated, she twirled around and somehow ended up in her ninja garb, posing with her fans as the audience roared.

"Nippon ichi!" she happily exclaimed, ignoring the fact that neither of her teammates were from Japan.

King and Mary made their entrances then, coming up from behind Mai on either side of her. Mary showed off a bit too, falling behind as she tossed her jacket to a waiting Anton. Meanwhile, King was all business, not even looking at the fans as she marched out in front of her partners; she just stared straight ahead at the tunnel across from her, unconsciously adjusting her gloves.

Once the three reached the platform, the annoying voice returned.

"And our next team! Featuring two genuine psychics, their _sensei_, and our resident idol! Hailing from China and Japan, please welcome the Psycho Soldiers - Chin Gentsai, Sie Kensou, and Athena Asamiya!"

In this case, two people entered first. Athena and Sie emerged from the tunnel together, both of them smiling, holding hands… and wearing the same colors.

"...oh, for fuck's sake," King groaned.  
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't they?" Mary snickered.  
"Awww, I think it's _adorable_," Mai gushed.

_Of course you would_, King thought with a sigh.

The couple soaked up the audience's cheers _and_ catcalls, waving to all of them with big, sappy grins on their faces. Behind them trailed their Master, Chin, who looked about as happy about the situation as King did. _He must think their heads might not be in the game_, she mused. _Could be good news for us..._

Then there was no more time for musing, as their opponents made it to the platform. As the perky lady spouted off about the slight change in format, the six stared across from each other at their opponents. Chin and Mary both looked cool and calm; Mai and Sie looked eager and confident; King looked like she was about to hit someone with a truck - and Athena looked like the deer in the headlights.

Once the perk finished, the first two contestants stepped up. They stopped a fair distance from each other, made short non-verbal greetings… and then got into their stances, just waiting for the announcer to say the word...

"GO!"

The first match was Blue Mary against Master Chin, and Mary figured she had it in the bag. "Kung-fu grandpa" or not, he had to be about a thousand years old; one good armbar would surely be enough to take him out. Unfortunately for Mary, actually _barring_ that arm proved to be a problem. Chin moved as slow and seemingly drunk as ever, but when it came to dodging attacks he was a waterfall. All of her grab attempts were thwarted, and only a few strikes made it through. Meanwhile, he landed nearly _all_ of his strikes, which were a bit light but surprisingly painful. Chin didn't even break a sweat until his finishing move: sake-fueled flames that roared from his throat, leaving Mary floored, singed, and out of the fight.

The next match, however, featured much the same problem. Where Chin moved like lightning up close, Mai did it all the time, leaving poor Kensou dazed and confused where he stood. Limbs and flames seemed to strike him from out of nowhere; fans seemed to be hitting him every few seconds. Meanwhile his energy bullets all sailed a mile wide, and he couldn't aim his telekinesis well enough to catch her. Finally, he tried the monk approach: he stood still, eyes closed, waited to _sense_ Mai - and struck… at which point she curled over Kensou's arm, vaulted on top of his head, and hit his whole body with an explosion of flames underneath her. The whole audience laughed at that one - but Kensou was much less amused, as he went back to the sidelines both burned and defeated. (Luckily he had Athena to take the edge off the pain… though her fits of giggles kind of put it back again.)

With the score tied, the team leaders would decide the match, which of course left the audience thrilled. The hardcore fighting fans were looking forward to a clinique in kicking from King; the rest were just looking forward to Asamiya-_sama_. But neither of _them_ felt too thrilled at the moment, with King trying to ignore the self-doubt in the back of her head while Athena tried to ignore the fear in hers.

Once they'd taken their places, King offered a _non_-non-verbal greeting.

"I will _not_ lose, Asamiya. Brace yourself."  
"Aw, c'mon, Miss King," Athena chuckled nervously. "Gimme a break here, huh...?"  
"...If I have to," King replied, glaring intently as her opponent's eyes went wide.

Then the bell rang, and there was no more time for words… from her, at least. Athena called out her Psycho Balls as always, partly for show and partly to settle her nerves. King, of course, was having none of it, weaving through her keep-out bullshit with ferocious speed. She didn't take so much as a scratch before she got up close - right where she wanted to be.

But then a funny thing happened. King's crushing side kick could've fractured her enemy's ribs - but Athena dodged it, seeing it coming a mile away. She saw through the next few strikes too, surprised her foe was telegraphing them so much. Scowling, King actually tried a Superman punch, which Athena slapped back with a palm strike to draw first blood (so to speak).

The hit seemed to restore Athena's confidence - but it restored King's sanity, too. The next few exchanges were much more technical, with King testing Athena's range as she darted in and out of it. Slowly, King took back her momentum, scoring a solid blow to the thigh and a quick pop to the nose. A moment later she landed a shoulder kick - and while Athena swerved around her followup, King managed to duck her counterattack, standing up and punching her chest as hard as she could.

But just as King started to find her groove, Athena found hers… and hers involved superpowers. Her psychic techniques had improved since the last tournament, and King's own techniques couldn't seem to keep up. A Venom Strike was Reflected back at her; a Trap Shot whiffed and got countered with a Phoenix Arrow. Even the Surprise Rose was stuffed by a clutch Psycho Sword, sending her sailing through the air and down to the platform hard.

King got up with a growl that turned into a hiss. That one hurt pretty bad; she wondered if _she'd_ fractured something. She had a splitting headache, too, and her limbs felt heavy as lead. Meanwhile Athena looked almost fresh, merely holding her chest and breathing hard. Their eyes met as they gauged each other… and Athena couldn't help but smile, sensing victory at hand.

Okay, _that_ pissed King off. She growled again, for real this time; she'd had enough of this. Immediately she ran in - her head spinning as she did it - but she kept enough sense to stay tactical, sliding in with a low kick. Startled, Athena stumbled backward… at which point King leapt into her notoriously brutal Illusion Dance, hoping to catch her with the opening hit.

Unfortunately, Athena knew what her opponent could do.

The second she saw the low kick, she knew what might come after it. So, almost before King even started the maneuver, Athena went into a Teleport, phasing forward with afterimages trailing behind her. She passed straight through King on her way, briefly occupying the same space as her foe...

...and then a whole host of images flashed through her mind:

_A badly beaten King on a gurney, writhing in agony, with Mai squeezing her hand and a nurse looking on with pity._

_King's old boss, the infamous crime lord Mr. Big, backhanding her across the face in her bar._

_A disheveled King on a sofa, her eyes closing as Vanessa leaned in for a kiss._

_An older couple berating King from across a table, the rage and sorrow on her face almost palpable._

_King on a bed, bruised and bloody, tearfully yelling something in French… and a man laying on top of her, one hand on her neck - and the other -_

\- and then Athena was past her, and she snapped back into reality. Immediately her Teleport stopped, leaving her just yards away from King. She should've run at her to counter, should've at_ least_ turned around - but instead she stood stock still, staring at nothing in absolute horror. _Wha...what… What the HELL did I just see_...!?

Meanwhile, King had just landed from her slipped Illusion Dance. Cringing, she whipped around as fast as possible - only to find Athena just _standing_ there, her back turned and her head hunched over a bit. King didn't know why… and she didn't care why, either. All she knew was that this was her chance.

She ran back at Athena at top speed, lining up her shot on the way. Once she got within range, she hit her foe dead-on with a hook to the abdomen, sinking her fist into her liver. Athena let out a sharp gasp, her eyes widening to saucers… but King wasn't done. She quickly followed up with a Silent Flash, pelting repeated backflip kicks into her opponent's spine. The last shot popped Athena into the air - where King finished her off with a Venom Shot, unleashing a chi burst to rival the Sakazakis' with a single sweep of her leg.

The Shot hit Athena with full force, exploding on her back and blasting her into the platform. When the light show faded she was down - and clearly not getting up any time soon. The surge had even blown her vest apart, King noted with sardonic glee. A small part of her felt guilty that the girl hadn't moved at _all_… but the cheers of the crowd and the shouts of her teammates quickly drove it from her mind.

"The winners!" Perk cried. "And in decisive fashion! Team Women Fighters!"

By now Mai had reached King and pulled her into a laughing hug. Sadly, King's reaction was a massive groan; she was going to pay for those flashy moves later, she knew. Startled, Mai pulled away - but King pulled her back in, telling her it was worth it. Then Mary reached them, and the three held their hands in the air to a roaring crowd, sealing King's triumphant return.

Of course, on the other side, things were different. Kensou howled and ran up to his lady love, more afraid for her now than ever. Chin approached quickly too, but didn't look nearly as worried; he knew his girl would survive. Instead he looked downright mystified, wondering _what_, exactly, had cost her the match.

Only when Kensou reached Athena could he be sure she was alive. It took him that long to see her faint trembling, to hear her quiet sobs.

"Athena! Thank god... What's wrong with you?! What hurts?!"

A _lot_ of things hurt. A few things were even _broken_. But they weren't the problem right now. The problem was the memories she'd seen, the feelings she'd felt. The anger, the heartbreak, the helplessness… Athena knew them well. She knew them all _too_ well, in fact.

"It isn't that, Sie," she moaned (once she'd spat out enough blood to talk).

"Then what _is_ it, child?" Chin pressed.

Athena looked up at her Master with tears in her eyes.

"I think something's happened to Miss King…!"

* * *

_Well! That was one hell of a skirmish, huh? Here's some stuff and thangs:_

_* As mentioned before, we adopted King of Fighters: A New Beginning's tournament format with three one-on-one matches._  
_* If you've been going here awhile ("here" being my fics centering on King) you probably recognized where Athena's flashes were coming from. But, in case you need a refresher course or you're new, here we go:_

_* Flash 1 - the hospital gurney: This was an "off-screen" event during Much Like Suffocating between chapters six and seven. King had several cracked ribs, a black eye, a cut on her head, multiple bruises and contusions._  
_* Flash 2 - Mr. Big: This happened in Oxygen to Breathe's thirteenth chapter, King Rat. King has a confrontation with Big at Illusion._  
_* Flash 3 - From chapter two of Red. Self-explanatory_  
_* Flash 4 - The couple is King's family - her aunt Maddy and uncle Gary (non-canon). Both are seen in Thanks For Nothing - across the table and telling her some fucked up shit (Maddy especially)_  
_*Flash 5 - We don't need to explain this. MLS is just a few clicks that way._

_* Can we talk about how violent some of King's moves actually are? Because, like... Ow. Also, let's talk about liver shots. A shot to the liver is going to fuck somebody up - period. That's why you see grown-ass men losing boxing matches because of well-timed liver shots. You don't just get up from them; they literally STUN you. The more you know. *cue shooting star*_

_Okay, I think that covers all of it. Mads sends his apologies for having the big confrontation happen so soon, but, like... we're not done or whatever, so take from that what you will. Cheers~_


	3. Chapter 3

**Mads says hi.**

**Onward~!**

* * *

King took several long gulps of rosé from a matte-finished pink can before setting it aside to splash blue-tinted bathwater over her face. She didn't know how long she had been in the tub, nor did she really care - all she knew was that she had been way too tired and way too sore to really celebrate her team's victory: She had grabbed literally one drink and some ice cream with Mary and Mai before making her way back to their hotel suite to wind down with a much needed bath (and some wine she took to-go). She immersed herself in the hot water, glad that CBD bath bombs were a thing, and equally glad that Yuri had generously given her an entire bag of them, because goddamn were they useful - especially since the fight with Athena left her much more beat up than she anticipated (physically as well as mentally).

Then again, _her_ discomfort was probably _nothing_ compared to the girl's, since she had absolutely decimated her in those last few seconds of their match.

King couldn't help feeling a little bad, though: Yes, it was King of Fighters. Yes, the idea was to beat the shit out of the other person, and, yes, she had done that - but had she gone too far? Athena wasn't like, say, Jack Turner. Whereas someone like him _deserved_ to be beaten half to death, Athena was just a girl with a dream and a song in her heart - or something like that.

Nevertheless, it couldn't be helped. What was done was done, and King would be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy being in a good fight - or inflicting as much damage (or pain) as possible to anyone stupid enough to underestimate her. But the fact of the matter was that, _despite_ the girl's healing factor, she had still managed to land her in the hospital. Not only that, but she hadn't even said a single word to the poor thing post-battle. No, "Thanks for the match," or, "Sorry if I broke your spine;" no pretty rose as a consolation gift and no handkerchief to soak up the blood. She had just... left.

It was kind of a dick move.

It took several minutes before King reluctantly climbed out of the tub. She briefly frowned at her reflection in the mirror (or what she could see of it through the fogged up glass) before leaving the bathroom to rummage through her travel bag for some clothes. She gingerly pulled on a tight-fitting henley top and short-shorts that had little cartoon cats all over them, threw herself on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Although happy she won, King actually felt more disappointed in herself than anything else. She could have - no, _should_ _have_ \- done better. She took unnecessary punishment; missed attacks she should have landed with ease. And _why_? She could blame it on her temper all she wanted, but the truth was, despite all of her progress - the intense therapy sessions, the simple passage of time - _it_ was still eating away at her.

"Bb?"

The sound of the door to the suite opening, followed by Mary's voice floated through the air, muffled by the walls.

"Où es tu?"  
"Ici," King responded dully.

Within seconds, Mary appeared. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, considering King very carefully as she did.

"You okay?"  
"...Where's Mai?"  
"She's with Andy. Possibly a little drunk."  
"Did you remind her that our train back leaves in the morning?"  
"I did," Mary answered. "But, like, that's not really important right now because you didn't answer my question."

King shut her eyes for just a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"Everything hurts and I'm dying."  
"Pffft. At least _you_ didn't get set on fire."  
"Touché. But I _did_ get thrown around with someone's _mind_."

Mary uncrossed her arms so she could fully enter the room. She sat down on the bed beside King, who didn't move.

"For someone who won a fight against a bonafide meta-human you don't seem happy at all."  
"I hit her in the back - _repeatedly_ \- and hospitalized her," King replied.  
"Yeah, that _was_ pretty brutal, but, like, she can totally heal, remember? She's probably already good," Mary assured her with a wave of her hand.  
"It was still kind of a terrible way to win. Not only that, but…"  
"But…?"

King exhaled sharply. She folded her hands over her stomach and turned her head so she could face her friend.

"Everyone's right. I'm still fucking broken."  
"Aw, bb. That's not true."

King shot Mary a pointed look before turning her attention back to the ceiling. She placed a hand on her forehead, and then:

"Beating up drunkards and unruly patrons at the bar, and sparring with you guys… it's not the same as here. Not even close. So... I had to get in there… and I _had_ to win - no matter what. Not just to keep us in the tournament, but… to show everyone that I'm not… 'erratic' or 'unhinged' or whatever the fuck it is they're saying about me. That I'm normal - that nothing is off. So I wasn't about to give her the _satisfaction_ of beating me…! And I wasn't about to give _him_ the satisfaction of _watching_ her beat me…!"  
"Bb -" Mary reached over and started absently playing with King's hair - "You know you don't have to prove anything, right?"  
"Maybe… maybe not to _you_, but -"  
"But _nothing_! You're just as strong now as you were _before_ it happened. To be honest you might even be stronger - don't make that face - now. But, whatever. Broken or not, we still love you, so..."

King reached for Mary's hand and gave it a light squeeze before shutting her eyes again. She pressed her lips together, pensive, as she switched her focus to something else.

"Why do you think she stopped?"  
"Huh?"  
"Asamiya. She just… _stopped_. Why?"  
"I dunno. It _was_ weir -"

"KINGY!"

At that exact moment Mai popped up - somehow on the other side of the room - a huge smile on her face as she belly flopped onto the bed.

"What the _fuck_?!" King exclaimed.  
"_How_ did you get here?!" Mary yelled as she jumped at least two feet off the bed.

Mai laughed as she draped a slender arm over King. She drew in a very deep breath, her dark eyes slightly glassy.

"You smell _really_ good! What is that?!"  
"Bath bomb and my deodo - what the _hell_ have you been drinking?!"  
"Mai tais. Get it? Mai… tais?"  
"Oh, my god," Mary groaned, though the corners of her lips twitched upward while she took her place on the bed once more.  
"So," Mai said loudly as she propped herself up on her elbows, "What are we talking about?"  
"Athena," Mary answered. "Our royal highness here was wondering why she froze mid-fight. Any ideas?"

Mai screwed up her face while shrugging her shoulders.

"I dunno… It _was_ really strange, though. Did you get to see her face, Mary? She looked like she had seen a ghost."  
"No, I didn't catch that."

The trio fell silent, all thinking about how bizarre the end of the match actually was.

"Hey, what was it like when she phased _through_ you?" Mai asked suddenly.  
"Huh?"  
"There's no way that could have felt good," Mary added.

King quirked a brow.

"I didn't even realize she did it."  
"How do you _not_ realize that?!" Mary practically shouted.  
"Kingy," Mai breathed, awestruck, "She was _inside_ you...!"  
"Then the least she could have done was bought me a drink."

At that, Mary stopped playing with King's hair and looked down at her, wide-eyed, while Mai's jaw hung open. Meanwhile, King looked from one woman to the other.

"Quoi…?"

She drew the word out for an almost bizarre amount of time, curious as to why her teammates were having such a strange reaction to her quip. After a quick moment of awkward silence Mary resumed playing with King's short locks, her expression a little mystified, while Mai nervously cleared her throat.

"We just…"  
"We weren't expecting that from you, that's all," Mary said with a frown.  
"You know me," King said dryly as she sat up, "I'm just _full_ of surprises."

###

"It was like nothing I've ever seen in my life."

Athena looked up tiredly at Kensou, not really responding when he patted her hand. Contrary to Mary's guess, she was still in the hospital, as King's assault had proven too much to heal from in one go. Now she lay in a tiny bed, her arm in a sling and her leg elevated, waiting for her strength to recover. Thankfully, Kensou had agreed to wait with her - and to try to help her cope with her visions.

"Are you sure it was memories? Not nightmares or anything else...?"  
"Definitely real," she answered, shaking her head. "The details were too distinct - the feelings too strong. ...Way, _way_ too strong."  
"Do you… do you really think she was -?"  
"I don't know. He might've been trying to kill her instead. I couldn't quite make it out."

Her eyes closed.

"...but it sure did _feel_ like it. That pain, that fear, that desperation… it's just what _I_ felt… What I've tried to forget."

Kensou growled in frustration as a tear rolled down Athena's cheek.

"That damn criminal! First she puts you in the hospital, and now this!"  
"_Reformed_ criminal, remember? And this isn't her fault."  
"How do you figure?!"  
"Well this doesn't happen to me every _day_," Athena pointed out. "It only happened the one other time, back with Iori. The Master couldn't figure it out then, either… but I think I have."

Kensou's eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah?"

Athena nodded.

"When I saw into Iori's mind, he was trying to kill Kyo. But he didn't just _want_ to kill him - he _needed_ to, to try to fight his inner pain. The depths of his sorrow and rage...that's what drew me in, Sie. I'd never felt it before, and I've never felt it since - until now."  
"She wanted to _kill_ you⁇"  
"Of course not," she assured him. "She just wanted to _win_, at any cost. She _needed_ to win, like Iori, to battle her demons. And just like him, if she can't beat them… they'll consume her."

Kensou stared at her for a second.

"...You want to help her, don't you?"

"Well of _course_ I want to help!" she snapped, startling him. "I was nearly raped too, you know! I know what it's like! If I hadn't stopped it, I might have _never_ recovered! If that's what happened to her, and _she couldn't_ stop it… then I… I…!"

Athena started to weep, quietly quaking with sobs. Kensou immediately reached for her but she swatted him away, scowling through her tears. He couldn't help her with this; this was her pain, dammit. _Hers_… and maybe King's pain, too.

"...so yes, Sie," she finished, wiping her eyes, "I want to help her. I don't care if she hurt me - I don't want _her_ to hurt. Not like that."  
"Okay," Kensou said, swallowing. "So, how can you do it?"  
"I don't know," Athena admitted, her eyes closing again.

...But a few hours later, she started to get an idea.

The couple had long since abandoned the heavy discussion, moving on to small talk and occasional dozing. The new tournament came up often, as they groused about their loss and talked about their friends' performances. Eventually they both dozed off at once, resting for nearly half an hour… until Athena suddenly woke with a horrified gasp.

"What is it? What is it⁇" Kensou blurted, his eyes darting around the room.  
"It's ok!" Athena said quickly, patting his hand to calm him down. Once he'd settled, she laid back, closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorry about that. It's just… it's nothing."  
"Doesn't _look_ like nothing," he grumbled, seeing her cold sweat and heavy breathing.  
"I'll be fine," she assured him with a weary smile. "...I _could_ use some water, though. Ice water, if it's okay?"  
"Oh. Uh, sure, it's alright."

Kensou stood up and took the empty pitcher, heading outside for the nurse's station. When he got to the door he turned back and looked at her again.

"You sure you're good?"  
"_Yes,_" Athena promised, rolling her eyes. "Now come on. Chop chop."  
"Har har," Kensou snarked, smirking back.

He then opened the door, exited, and closed it behind him.

Immediately she burst into tears.

_The dreams… not the dreams,_ she mentally moaned, gritting her teeth to keep from bawling outright. Athena's recovery from her assault had been short, but not instant. She'd still had plenty of time to have flashbacks, paranoia - and nightmares. Vicious, terrible dreams where she couldn't escape, getting raped and/or tased for seemingly hours on end.

_...and now they're coming back. I don't WANT them back. I can't go through this again. I CAN'T...!_

She shook her head and ordered herself to _stop it_. She was an idol, dammit; she knew how to act cheery. Only with Kensou did she completely open up - but right now, she had to hide from him too. She didn't want to torment him with her anguish… especially when he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Of course, Athena couldn't either - in theory. But she had a hunch, and her hunches were usually right. King's feelings had reopened a _lot_ of old wounds; surely the dreams were just part of them. And she had already suspected helping King would help her, too. So she had to believe that if she could give King peace, she would regain her own.

She _had_ to.

Athena had just put her smile back on when Kensou returned.

"Oh, good, you're looking better," he told her, smiling back.  
"Hehe, thanks," Athena chirped, flicking away a stray tear when he wasn't looking. "...did they have any ice?"

"Sure did, hon."

He came over and, quite gentlemanly, poured her a cup; she nodded her thanks as she took it, then started to drink.

"By the way, you know who I ran into outside? Vanessa!"

Athena's spit take came straight out of a Warner Bros. cartoon.

"Vuh...Vanessa?!" she spluttered eventually. "You saw _Vanessa_!?"  
"Yeah, she's here with Ramon. He got laid up too, remember?" Kensou looked at her curiously, his eyebrow raised. "Something wrong with that...?"

_Damn right there is_, thought Athena, her heart beating like a drum. She'd hidden Vanessa from Kensou, too - and she always would. And from Chin, and her friends, and everyone _else_ in the world because _good girls don't talk about things like that_.

But then it occurred to her: if Vanessa knew King that well… maybe she'd also know what happened?

"...help me up," said Athena, sitting up at the waist.  
"_What!?_"  
"I need to talk to her. Alone. She… I think she knows something."

She started reaching for her leg restraints, but Kensou stopped her.

"Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "Athena, you can't even _walk!_"

She gave him a scalding, "look-who-you're-talking-to" glare. Then she turned to her leg, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Within seconds the healing glow began, mostly centered on the breaks. It took all the strength she had recovered - but once she'd finished (and caught her breath), she turned back to Kensou and moved the leg easily, kicking at the restraints.

"There, good as new," she clipped out. "Anything else?"  
"No, ma'am," Kensou replied sheepishly, reaching up to unlock her. "I don't know where she is, though. Or where Ramon's room is, either. How're you gonna find her?"  
"I'm not sure," Athena admitted as she stood up. "But I'll figure it out. ...I have to."

And with those puzzling words she left, Kensou's eyebrows still raised behind her.

* * *

_Notes because OF COURSE!_

_*King is drinking House Wine (Rosé Bubbles) which also made a guest appearance in Red. Canned wine is starting to become A Thing™_  
_*Let's talk about cannabis for a second: It's been previously established in (my) other stories that Yuri uses edibles to treat migraines, but will also share with King because she's a good friend like that don't judge. Anyway, there are two main components in cannabis - THC and CBD. THC is the stuff that messes with your head - gives you the giggles, makes you hungry, etc. CBD, on the other hand, doesn't produce the "high" one gets with THC. But it still helps relieve pain, and is infused in a variety of products - including bath bombs._  
_*Mary is fluent in several languages, including French. Oú es tu = Where are you? Ici = Here/In here._  
_*"Everything hurts and I'm dying." Parks & Rec, yo._  
_*If you've seen Booksmart you might have caught something really subtle in this chapter. If you haven't seen it, go fucking watch it, it's great._  
_*Quoi? = what?_  
_*Athena talking about seeing into Iori's mind is referring to an event in the KOF: Kyo manga (Stage 03) where Athena attempts to break up a fight between our resident firebois and ends up seeing into Iori's psyche for, like, .2 seconds. It's over on NeoGeoNow if you want to read it for yourself._  
_*Warner Bros. You know… Bugs Bunny… Daffy Duck… Elmer Fudd? Did Mads and I just carbon date ourselves with this? Whatever._

_Alright, folks. I think that does it for this installment. What will happen next?! Bold of you to assume we know! Until next time~_


	4. Chapter 4

**Let's kick this bad boy off with a few words from Mads, who would like to say "hey everyone" and "thank you for your support!" He also expressed that he would like to give a special thanks to New Zealand for following him to his latest endeavor.**

**That's right! We see you, NZ! Hello!**

**Moving on, I promised elsewhere that we would have some more slice of life fuckery for you all to take in at your leisure, and here it is, a little earlier than usual this week, but still jam packed full of the type of shit you'd expect from us... minus the torture. **

**Onward~!**

* * *

Despite the overwhelming size and layout of the hospital it only took Athena a little under thirteen minutes to find Vanessa, who was on the losing side of a battle with a vending machine two floors down. It was almost comical, really: the crimson-haired boxer would insert her cash, wait, and then scowl as the bill was spit right back out at her. The cycle went on for way too long while Athena thought about the best way to approach her. What could she possibly say and how would she possibly say it? While it was true that she had a _lot_ of questions, coming right out and _asking_ most of them would probably earn her a swift jab to the nose.

"It's broken."

Athena jumped, completely caught off guard as the statuesque woman turned around to face her.

"But you probably knew that already, seeing as how you've been watching me fight this thing for a good minute or two."  
"How-how did you…?"  
"I could see your reflection in the glass," Vanessa answered. She crossed her arms and casually leaned back against the machine. "Anyway, you're either really jonesing for some stale cookies, or you have something you'd like to talk about. So which is it?"

Despite her bluntness Vanessa's tone was extremely friendly. Open. It should have made her really easy to talk to, but somehow she still managed to be intimidating as hell (probably because she was _so_… _incredibly_… _tall_). Nevertheless, Athena stood, rooted to the spot, while she fidgeted with the hospital ID band around her wrist.

"I was hoping… to talk to you about Miss King."  
"Miss King? You mean _King_-King? The one who you fought today."  
"Yes. We didn't get to talk at all, and I wanted to… umm, see how she was doing."  
"So… even though she won the match and beat the holy hell out of you… you want to know if _she's_ okay."  
"Y-Yes."

Vanessa placed a hand on her chin. She looked down at Athena, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Why are you lying to me?"  
"Wh-what? I'm not lying! I -"  
"I'm going to stop you right there. You can't bullshit a bullshitter, kid -"  
"I'm not _trying_ to bull… err..."  
"- so just come right out with it and tell me what you want."

Athena opened her mouth - then shut it. She opened it again, her finger raised… then sighed and looked down, letting it drop.

"Alright, Vanessa. The truth is… I know something happened to her. And I'd like to know more about it."  
"Is that so?" Vanessa asked. "What do you know, exactly?"  
"Well, I _don't_ know _exactly_," Athena smoothly replied. "I just know it's pretty bad. And I think I can help her."  
"And how's that…?"

Athena opened her mouth - then stopped again, slack-jawed this time. Really, she still had _no_ idea _how_ she could help King with this. Sure, they shared a terrible bond… but _she_ had avoided the worst of it. What if King hadn't? And their other problems had nothing to do with each other. What could she tell her? How would she even broach the subject?

Of course, even if she _did_ have a plan, Athena wouldn't have gone into detail. She didn't know for sure what Vanessa knew, either. So finally she dribbled out, "Well… I mean… I think I could talk to her and stuff…?"

Vanessa raised her eyebrows, clearly seeing through the ruse.

"Alright, kid. I won't press," she told her. "But I _am_ curious: Why _now_? Why not before the match, or when this 'something' actually happened? Did you just now find out about it?"

Athena cringed.

"...ah heh. Well, not _exactly_… but after our match, I think I understand it more."

_That should be safe,_ she figured. King was pretty ruthless out there, so _anyone_ might think something was up. And fighters were always learning crazy things about each other through the heat of battle. So she -

"So you saw into her mind? Like you did with Yagami?"

Vanessa could practically _hear_ Athena's eyes widen.

"...what?! _How-?!_"  
"I drink and I know things," she laughed as she straightened up. "But never mind that. If you saw into King's mind, and now you have questions about her… I think I have an idea of what you found. But I'm not gonna start spilling secrets here, so if you want to keep talking _you're_ gonna have to spill first. Good?"  
"Alright, alright," Athena sighed. "But, if you hear anything you _didn't_ know… you can keep secrets from her, too, right?"  
"I think I can handle that," Vanessa replied with a smirk.

So Athena told her. She told her she saw King in the hospital, beaten and broken; King at her bar, getting smacked down by Mr. Big; King at an older couple's house, getting lectured by them; and King in a bed, god-knew-where, with god-knew-who on top of her trying to do god-knew-what.

"...but I couldn't quite tell what was happening," Athena finished. "I'm not sure if he was trying to kill her or rape her. I'm not sure how… how far he got. And I'm not sure if she stopped him, or if someone else did... or... no one."

"I see," Vanessa murmured quietly. For an instant, her demeanor subtly changed; a flicker in her eyes that suggested something like shock - or maybe even horror? But it happened so fast; it was impossible for Athena to know if she even _really_ saw it. Regardless, Vanessa glanced away for a moment before turning back and carrying on.

"Let's say you're right on the money, or at least close to it. Then what? Because, I've gotta tell you, if I were her, I wouldn't be too thrilled if a strange girl started gabbing with me about something she'd picked out of my head during a fist fight."

There was silence as Athena mulled over Vanessa's words. She hadn't considered how King would react to a casual acquaintance asking about this, either. Especially one she'd just put in the hospital.

"You need to tread _very_ carefully," Vanessa warned. "King is extremely… private. And she likes it that way. She _needs_ it that way, because she's…"

Vanessa trailed off then, which gave Athena pause. She watched the older woman's face as she appeared to struggle to find the right words - which, as Athena understood it, was a little unusual for her.

"She's a _sweet_heart," Vanessa went on after a moment, her cherry lips curving upward in a wan smile. "And she's a lot more sensitive than she lets on - especially now. But she's also..."  
"Dangerous?" Athena ventured.  
"I was going to say 'intense,' but I think you knew that already. Even with some _normal_ topics, you'd have your work cut out for you. And this is something even trained counselors get stumped on."  
"Oh, I'm sure of that. But counseling… wasn't really what I had in mind."  
"Then what is?" Vanessa pressed. "Pep talks and high spirits aren't going to help. Logical arguments won't, either. It's a _feeling_ \- something you have to know a _lot_ about... maybe even know yourself. How can you see this from her perspective? I mean, what do you two... even... have in com... mon..."

She'd trailed off because she'd kept _looking_ at her - and that was all it took. She'd seen Athena's face turn grim, eventually turning away. She'd seen her lips purse; she'd seen her eyes start to shine. She'd seen her legs subtly shift closer together, her hands fidgeting with her all-too-loose hospital gown.

"...oh," she said simply, taken aback for the first time.  
"Yeah," Athena mumbled. "I was thinking... more a 'swap stories' kinda thing."

She hated that she'd given herself away - but she wasn't surprised. Hell, she'd hidden it so poorly she might have _wanted_ it this way.

"...okay."

Vanessa sighed and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "I won't say any more - but I will help you ask her yourself. Give me your number and I'll text you her contact info."

Athena's eyes widened. "R-really? Thank you!" she exclaimed. She quickly recited her number and watched as Vanessa composed the message: within seconds the other woman held her screen up so Athena could see that the text was legit before using her thumb to press the little Send icon.

"Done."  
"Thanks again, Vanessa," said Athena, bowing her head. "I'll do my best to help her sort this out. And I promise I'll be careful. I can tell you really care about her."  
"I do, don't I?" Vanessa chuckled. "Glad to hear it, kid. And good luck."

Athena nodded again, then turned and started to leave, practically skipping with excitement. She felt some nervousness too, though, because honestly… now what? She still had to figure out -

"Wait."

She turned around cautiously.

"Y-Yes...?"  
"Why come to _me_ with all this?" Vanessa asked, her expression curious. "I mean, sure, King and I _do_ know each other, but…?"

Heat instantly crept into Athena's cheeks as she recalled the _other_ fragment she glimpsed… the one she'd conveniently left out of the conversation. She cleared her throat and smiled nervously.

"I… just. That is…"

Slowly, Vanessa narrowed her eyes. She unconsciously twisted the wedding band on her finger as realization clearly dawned on her. Athena braced herself for… she didn't even _know_ what; she stiffened up, waited… and exhaled when Vanessa flashed her a knowing smile.

"On second thought, let's not discuss it. ...I don't kiss and tell."

She turned on her heel and started down the corridor, leaving Athena to all but collapse in relief.

###

King let out a low, guttural sound as she worked to stuff her travel bag into an overhead rack just above her designated seat. Sleep hadn't come easy the night before, not because of anything particularly weighty on her mind, but because everything simply hurt too much. The bath bombs and Motrin couldn't keep every single ache at bay, and now she was up way too early, and it was way too hot and way too bright for her bag - which fell well within every carry-on limit imaginable - to suddenly not fit on the goddamn rack properly. With one final push the duffel slid into place, allowing King to breathe easy as she plopped down.

"I can't wait to get home," she told Mary, who was sitting across from her, scrolling through something on her phone.  
"We've only been gone a couple of days. Are you becoming that much of a hermit?"  
"Me? A hermit? I'm a _bartender_," King replied. "All I _do_ is go out and interact with people. It'll just be nice to be in my own place, in my own bed… in the quiet. At least, until the next match."  
"Have they even announced the venue yet?" Mai inquired as she fanned herself with one of her usual weapons.  
"No."

With that, the trio fell silent, which allowed King the perfect opportunity to rest her head against the window and shut her eyes. The train ride wasn't going to be that long, but, maybe, she'd be able to get a decent cat nap in. However, not even five minutes later her phone started to ring; the loud chime, coupled with the vibrating sensation, startled her back to complete wakefulness.

"Who…?"

She tugged the device out of her jeans and looked down at the bright screen, which simply read, "Unknown."

"Are you going to answer that?" Mai asked.  
"I guess," King mumbled reluctantly. She used her finger on the slider before raising the phone up to her ear. "Hello…?"

It was quiet for just a moment, and then a clear, but somewhat timid voice spoke.

"Miss King…?"

King cocked her head to the side as she tried to think of who would even call her that.

"Yes…? Who is this?"  
"A-Athena. Um. Asamiya."

She blinked. Athena? Asamiya? As in the girl she kicked the shit out of yesterday?

"To what do I owe this call?" King inquired, her brow furrowed. Mai and Mary looked at her curiously, but she ignored them.  
"Well, first off, I wanted to congratulate you on the match. A-and assure you there's no hard feelings. I'm okay now."  
"C'est trop _cool_," King grumbled dryly as she pulled her shirt, which was damp with sweat, away from her skin. She grimaced as she realized how rude that was. Sure, she had just been snapped awake… and it wasn't even nine in the morning… and it was already about a thousand degrees... but there was no need to be a bitch - especially since she had already destroyed the girl in combat. The least she could do was be polite.

"Uh, sorry about that. I'm glad you're okay, and thank you for the match."

Her teammates looked at each other, wide-eyed, as they realized who was on the phone.

"And you as well. I learned a lot." Athena paused. "So… how have you been lately?"

King made a face; she had been terrible for most of the goddamn year, but, obviously, Athena did _not_ need to know that. She drew in a deep breath before speaking again.

"I'm… good… Tired," she told the younger girl before letting out a quiet sigh. "But… isn't it a little early for small talk?"  
"Well, this isn't really small talk _per se_, aheh. See, I noticed you seemed kinda tense when we fought."  
"'Tense?'"

King eyed Mai and Mary (who looked from each other to King, confusion all over their faces).

"It was the deciding match."  
"True… but it felt like more than that. You seemed very eager to win out there," Athena pointed out. "Almost... _desperate_, like… like you had something to _prove_."

What. The. Hell.

King had always been a decent enough actress and lying came pretty easily for her, so there was no way she could have been _that_ transparent. No fucking way. She pressed her lips together in a thin line as she recalled Mary's words from the night before. Of course, while _Mary_ seeing right through her was completely normal - and even expected in some (most) instances - a girl who barely knew her should have been a different story. Either King was somehow doing a piss poor job of keeping up her facade or there was something more going on.

Or maybe it was both.

Nevertheless, she looked at her teammates, curious but somewhat alarmed.

"Something… to _prove_," she echoed slowly.  
"What the hell -!?" Mary exclaimed while jumping forward.  
"Does she _know_ something?!" Mai fretted as she leaned over toward King, who gritted her teeth and frantically waved at her friends to keep it down.

"Yes, I think so," Athena went on. "And it struck me as odd, since you did quite well in the last King of Fighters. Is there something else that made you feel that way...?"  
"Something that _made_ me…? I'm sorry, but… what are trying to say?" King queried, her cranky disposition starting to get the better of her. "It's awfully presumptuous of you to think that I felt the need to 'prove' myself out there."  
"O-oh, no, it's nothing like that. It's just - you were _different_ in that fight. And I'm wondering if… if something happened to you."

At that King's eyes widened. As much as she wanted - no, _needed_ \- to stay cool, her anxiety started to rapidly kick in. She shook her head, a little confused - but also suddenly incredibly agitated - and sputtered the first thing that came to mind:

"C'est - c'est quoi ce putain de bordel-?!"  
"I, umm… what?"  
"J'ai d - what… what the _hell_...?! What are you...?!"

So much for keeping herself in check.

"I'm sorry," Athena said hastily. "M-maybe I should start over. You see, I -"  
"No," King interrupted, her temper taking over completely, "I _don't_ see. And maybe I don't _want_ to, seeing as how you're randomly calling me to… to what?! To psychoanalyze _why_ I kicked your ass in a state-sanctioned bout?! I have nothing to prove! I am _not_ _weak_, or _usel _\- OW!"

Mary's foot connecting with King's shin instantly stopped the impulsive tirade. She glared at her companion, slightly miffed, but also grateful for the save as she realized that she had come dangerously close to letting something personal slip out into the open.

In a way, though, she had already said too much.

"Miss King," Athena started - and her tone had changed. She sounded confident, deliberate; she was getting to the point. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to analyze you; I already _know_ you're in pain."  
"I'm doing just fine, thanks," King snapped. "Now if you - "  
"What I want to do is _talk_ about it, honestly and openly. Something hurt you. Some_one_ hurt you. And I think I can help."

King's eyes narrowed into slits.

"This conversation is over," she stated flatly. "Do not presume to know what's going on in my head and do not call me again. Thanks for the match and have a nice life. Adieu."

With that King ended the call. She used shaking hands to stuff her phone in her pocket, leaned back in her seat, and pressed her lips together hard. She didn't fully understand what had just happened: Athena seemed genuinely concerned about her well-being... but she also seemed to know _way_ too much for someone who claimed she couldn't read minds. It was _weird_, it was unnerving… and it was beginning to wreck her shit - badly.

"Kingy," Mai said, wide-eyed. "What was that?"  
"I… I don't know… !" She replied. She swallowed hard as her breathing started to become erratic. "I think... she might know about... what-what happened to me…!?"  
"Bb, listen. That's impossible. Just breathe, okay?" Mary told her calmly. "Breathe…!"  
"I - y-yeah…"

###

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Athena sat with her legs criss-crossed on the bed, her heart racing. King's reaction wasn't entirely unexpected… but it was definitely indicative of the kind of trauma she'd been afraid of. She thought about those flashes again (particularly the last one) and put her hand over her mouth: There was _no way_ someone had stopped him before -

"Athena, what'd she say? What happened?" Kensou asked from across the room.  
"...she closed off," Athena sighed, shaking her head as she calmed herself. "It was my fault, I got too pushy. But it's at _least_ as bad as I thought."  
"Oh, man," Kensou muttered, cringing. "So… what's your next move, then?"  
"I don't know," she admitted. Her eyes closed. "There's got to be _some_ way to find out _exactly_ what happened, so I can figure out how to get through to her…"

They sat silently for a moment, trying to come up with one.

It was Kensou who had the breakthrough.

"Well you know," he said suddenly, "you guys _do_ have one close friend in common."  
"Oh yeah? Who's that?"

He smiled dolefully, thinking of episodes past.

"...Yuri Sakazaki."

* * *

_End notes because of course~_

_* On Vanessa's height: In case you are unaware, she is a whopping six-feet tall (182 cm), while Athena is 5'4" (163 cm). That's a fucking height difference, okay._  
_* "I drink and I know things" is a direct nod to Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, who utters this exact line to Missandei and Varys. It was such a perfect opportunity, I had to take the shot. And, once again, she's referring to the Yagami incident from the KOF: Kyo manga - see last chapter's end notes if you missed that._  
_* Obviously Vanessa says she can handle keeping secrets since she has been hiding her profession as a secret agent from literally the world._  
_* If you haven't read Red, it involves King and Vanessa having a fling while Vanessa's marriage hits a rough patch. You should totally read it, not because of self-promotion, but because it might help you understand where her head is at in this whole thing._  
_* C'est trop cool = That's SO cool/ That's AWESOME._  
_* C'est quoi ce putain de bordel = What the actual fuck. It could also be translated as "what the fucking fuck" or "what the fuck is this." Basically King's sputtering a bunch of obscenities but also trying to attach a question to them. Isn't language neat?_

_I think that covers it this time. Thanks for taking the time to read (and hopefully let Mads and I know what's on your mind). Cheers!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everybody! Rex here. I know I haven't talked much lately, so I figured I'd commandeer the start notes from here on out. illy doesn't use them much anyway. ;) I've mostly been busy with this and, well, _life_, with a little bit of work for that _other_ site on the side. Hopefully the life will die down soon so I can talk more again; as for writing, once I'm done here (_damn_ is it going fast!), I'll finish up the other site's update, then go back to Botan 2. ...I think. ...which probably means that I won't. :P **

**Thanks again for reading, and hope you enjoy!  
**

* * *

"Are you even paying attention?!"

King dug her hands into her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels, looking everywhere _but_ at the cantankerous woman standing in front of her on the porch of a cookie cutter house in the middle of suburbia. She deliberately turned away, pressed her lips together, and began to hum an off-key tune as she looked up at the bright sky, careful to avoid glancing directly at the sun, which was mercilessly beating down on her.

"_Cécile_!"

At that, King stopped humming. She let out a deep breath and squared her shoulders before facing her late father's sister, Madeleine.

"Yes, _Auntie_?"  
"I _said_ I want your brother back here before dinner. It's a school night, and it's bad enough that we let him stay up late because you were in a televised fight with a pop singer."  
"You say that like it's a bad thing."

King flashed a cheeky grin, which did absolutely nothing to alleviate the tension in the air.

"I don't like your brother watching you do such things," her aunt told her.  
"You mean fight in completely legal bouts that allow me to show off my impressive skills?"  
"You know you could have killed that girl," King's uncle, Gary, spoke up from his place on a wicker lounge chair.

"Were you even watching the match? The girl has literal super powers. She threw me around with her _mind_. But _I_ won."  
"And that's great," Gary said distractedly, turning back to his newspaper.  
"You know, it would be nice if you guys would give me some fucking credit every now and then," King snapped.  
"Credit for what?" Madeleine replied harshly. "Going to jail? Drinking all the time? Your… lewd inclinations? Quite frankly I don't understand how your brother looks up to you the way he does, Cécile."

Before King could respond her kid brother, Jean, appeared in the doorway, a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Céc!"

He bounded past their aunt and wrapped his arms around his big sister.

"About time, kiddo" King grunted, her sore muscles suddenly on fire from the bear hug. "Let's go."  
"Back before dinner," their aunt reminded them.  
"Je m'en fou…!"

The siblings walked away and climbed into King's car then, where Jean looked his sister over very carefully.

"Nice shiner," he laughed.  
"It really brings out my eyes, huh?" King remarked as she started the vehicle. She fell silent as she backed out of the driveway and started down the road; her mind started to wander while she drove, to the point that she hadn't even noticed the distinct lack of sound (something that normally would have driven her mad) until Jean said something.

"No music?"  
"...Oh. It's probably the bluetooth being weird," King answered, her tone far-off.  
"But you haven't even tried to fix it," Jean observed while tilting his head. "...Did Maddy say something?"  
"Maddy _always_ says something. _Salope_."  
"It's more than that, Céc - I know it. So... what's up?"

King let out a deep sigh as she stopped at a traffic signal. Avoiding the status quo with her brother had always been extremely difficult, as they talked about mostly everything, but ever since he discovered the truth about her assault it was fucking _impossible_.

"I broke a girl's back, and I had my first panic attack in months."  
"Oh yeah, the match! Céc, I love you, but that was crazy," Jean said, obviously a little troubled, "I mean, you were great, but that was legitimately scary!"

He squinted at the dashboard before turning to King, whose grip on the steering wheel had tightened a little bit.

"Is that the sort of stuff you would do to people for the Big Bad?"  
"You know I don't like talking about that with you - so can we not?"  
"Okay, sorry. But… why the panic attack? What happened?"  
"I think she found out…" King responded. "About…"  
"..._that_?" Jean asked quietly.

King slowly nodded.

"She called me," she started.  
"You got a call from an idol singer?!" Jean exclaimed. He paused before asking:  
"Can I have her number?"  
"Shut up."

Jean chuckled at his sister's deadpan delivery before going on.

"Seriously, though - what was that like? The call, I mean."  
"She said she wants to 'help' me, and that she wants to talk 'honestly and openly.'"  
"Help you with _what_?"  
"Exactly," King grumbled while making a left-hand turn.  
"... oh, shit."  
"Language."

The siblings fell into a very heavy silence then, with King trying to process what Athena's call really meant for her, and Jean trying to think of a solution to the potential problem.

"Everyone who knows has been sworn to secrecy, right?" he asked.  
"Yeah, but we didn't pinky swear or anything and it's becoming the worst-kept secret ever. I can count the number of people who know on both hands now."  
"Well, it's possible that she doesn't _actually_ know anything… right? Maybe she heard a rumour and is just guessing…?"

King frowned while she pulled into a large shopping center. She cautiously navigated through the lot, careful not to hit any stray pedestrians.

"Maybe. But… it sounded so specific. She said she _knows_ that someone hurt me."  
"God, I hate him," Jean stated angrily.  
"Me too," King said before pressing her lips together.  
"But you don't really think someone went and _told_ Athena, do you? Maybe a… what's it called? A… Fred…?"  
"Freudian slip."  
"Yeah, that. But, really. Do you have any mutuals who know about it?"

King thought carefully: Who did she know who also knew Athena… _and_ knew about the incident? Two people immediately came to mind, though one would be much easier to reach than the other at this time of day. King hastily pulled into a parking space - not caring if she was even in the lines - and snatched her phone from the drink holder. She frantically navigated her contacts until she found the right name.

"Céc, who are you…?"  
"Shhh!"

A quick pause as the line rang.

"King-san! How are you?! What's up?!"

Yuri Sakazaki's chipper voice boomed through the car speakers, her high energy almost palpable.

"Yuri, are you back in town?!" King demanded.  
"Yeah, I got back earlier. Why do you sound like that? Is everything okay!?"  
"Have you spoken to Asamiya lately?!"  
"Huh!? ...n-no, I haven't! I barely even said hi to her at the match! Why!?"  
"...okay, good. I need you to listen to me very carefully…!"

###

It took Athena most of the ride to Southtown to plan her attack. After all, Yuri had known King longer than anyone, or at least anyone in the KOF circuit. If _Vanessa_ was aggressively guarding King's secret, Yuri would surely be doing the same. So Athena wouldn't get it out of her over the phone. She'd have to meet her in person, just like she did with Vanessa.

She'd be open and honest _during_ the meeting, of course… but _getting_ her there might take some "finessing." Confident, deliberate, she picked up her phone and pulled up Yuri's contact. She hit the Dial button, then put the phone up to her ear, ready to match Yuri's ever-present perkiness with her own.

"...h-h-he-hello?"

Athena blinked.

"Ah, yes, is this Yuri?"  
"...may I ask who's calling please?"

_Uhhh… what?_

"It's Athena, silly!" she teased, trying to stick with the plan. "You've still got my number sav -"  
"Ohhh, _heeeeeeeeey_, Athena!" Yuri shouted into her ear. "Sorry 'bout that, I wasn't thinking! How the heck are ya!?"  
"...are you alright, Yuri?" Athena had to ask.  
"Of-of course I am! Right as rain!" Yuri answered _way_ too quickly. "...well not right as _rain_, of course. I mean how right is rain in the first place? Unless you're a farmer I guess, or in a drought or something like that. Isn't that a funny expression?! _Hahahahahaha!_"

_...whoa. Holy shit._

"O… kay?" Athena nervously replied. "So, anyway… it's been a while since I've been back in the States - "  
"Aw, gee, I don't think I can!" Yuri cut her off.  
"...you never even heard the question."

"Oh well I just sorta figured, you know? I mean old friend, back in town, wants to catch up with people, it makes sense right?! But like I said, I don't think I can. I've got a hair appointment and a nail appointment and dinner with the Terrys I mean Bogards and I've gotta do some training and wash my hair and organize my stamp collection - "

"You said hair twice, you know."  
"Well my hair's important to me, okay!?"

Silence.

"...Miss King already talked to you, didn't she?"  
"_Yes,_" Yuri sighed, relief personified. "She called me like _five minutes_ ago to tell me not to talk to you."  
"Well this isn't about her, okay?" Athena said, _mostly_ truthfully. "I really do want to catch up with you. The last time we've seen each other for more than five seconds was… what, during the _contest_? Before I even got together with Sie?"  
"I don't know, Athena," Yuri groaned. "We're friends and all… but I don't wanna slip up and say something King wouldn't want me to."  
"Well who's saying I'm going to ask about Miss King?"  
"_You_ are, by not saying you _won't_ ask about Miss King."

_...damn._

"Aw, c'mon, Yuri," Athena laughed, trying to blow past it. "Just have dinner with me, okay? We can go anywhere you want. I don't care if it's Wolfgang Puck's or McDonald's."

(She _really_ hoped Yuri didn't pick McDonald's.)

"I just don't think it's a good i - "

But then she stopped.

"...Yuri?"  
"Did you say _anywhere_…?"

###

And so it was that, for the first time in her life, Athena had dinner at Red Lobster.

"...I never get to come here with dad and the boys," Yuri explained, her mouth full of Cheddar Bay Biscuit (she'd already put away two of them). "Dad and Ryo are too cheap to go anywhere but our place, and Robbie only likes super-snooty restaurants. Do any of _them_ care that this is, like, my favorite food ever? ..._nmmmmphh_, ph _kppphh_ nnt."

She said the last through the final bite of her third biscuit, making Athena giggle.

"I just never had the money - when I was younger, at least. And now that I'm in music, when I eat out it's usually on business. So most of the time I end up at… well, the snooty places."  
"You don't know what you're missing," Yuri promised, picking up biscuit number four.  
"These _are_ pretty good," Athena agreed, getting her second. "You should try out Fogo de Chão, though. If you like these, once you have _theirs_ you might never leave."  
"Who says I'm leaving tonight?" Yuri asked, making _both_ of them giggle.

The rest of the dinner went well enough, though Athena had to _force_ Yuri to get an actual meal. She went with the Alaskan king crab legs; Athena stayed simple with grilled salmon. They dined, they wined (well, _tea'd_), they caught up with each other. By the end of the night, Athena was pleasantly stuffed… and Yuri was overloaded.

"_...why_ did you make me eat all those biscuits?" she groaned.  
"_Make_ you? I'd have had to use my powers to _stop_ you," Athena laughed.  
"Any chance your powers can make them go away…?"  
"Not if I can't see them. The best I could do would be to make them come back _up_."  
"...yeah, I'll keep 'em where they are, thanks," said Yuri, looking sick.

Soon after that, the check came (along with a to-go box for Yuri). Athena reached for it quickly - but Yuri got to it first, sticking her tongue out as her host pouted. Once she saw the total, though, her expression changed considerably.

"_That_ much?!" she exclaimed, just barely keeping her voice down.  
"Yes, and _you_ don't get to worry about it," Athena scolded as she snatched the check away. "I said I would treat you and I meant it!"  
"Aw, geez, Athena," Yuri mumbled, scratching the back of her neck. "How can I possibly repay you?"  
"...well, I know _one_ way," answered Athena, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Slowly, Yuri's eyes narrowed.

"Well at least you waited _this_ long to drop the other shoe."  
"Aw, come on, Yuri," Athena intoned, more gently this time. "What do you think I want to know for? It's not like I'm just curious or something."  
"Doesn't matter," Yuri countered. "It's _her_ issue, not mine. And you shouldn't be prying at either of us."  
"But I really want to _help_ Miss King. And I really think I can!"  
"How? How could _you_ help her when me, and Mai, and Mary, and even _Kyo_ \- "  
"Kyo? _Really?_"

Forcibly, Yuri calmed herself.

"...okay, what is it you know, anyway?" she asked.  
"I know she went through some trauma. I know she's in a lot of pain."  
"_How_ do you know that? ...I mean... how _would_ you know it, if it were true."  
"I'm a psychic, remember?" said Athena, smiling. "I may not read peoples' minds, but sometimes I can see into their hearts. It's when they're _hurting_, Yuri. When they're in so _much_ pain it's all that's driving them at the time."  
"...alright," Yuri said after a moment, "so if you were right - and I'm not saying you are! - how were you planning on helping her?"

Athena paused, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"...well, for one thing," she went on, "I thought we could talk about something we had in common."  
"Oh yeah? And what's that…?"

Athena stared at her, not speaking but not looking away. For about ten seconds, Yuri just stared right back...and then her eyes went wide as saucers.

"Oh god, _what happened_?! Are you okay!?" she shouted, gripping her friend's hand from across the table  
"Calm down, calm down," Athena commanded, looking around nervously to see if anyone had heard. "...and like I told you, a _lot_ has happened since we last met. One of those things was I was kidnapped… and, toward the end of it, nearly raped."  
"...oh."

Yuri's shock seemed to die down somewhat. Athena had a guess why - and she didn't like it one bit.

"I managed to stop him before… well, the worst of it," she hedged. "But I still _felt_ it. I… I know what it's like - to be in that position. It's horri… it's unthin… there _are_ no words, really. I wouldn't wish it on anyone… but knowing it gives me some perspective."  
"How long did it take you..?" Yuri whispered.  
"To get over it? ...A while. In some ways, I still haven't. But I'm _mostly_ back to normal now."  
"Oh my god… Athena… I'm so sorry that happened to you," said Yuri, wiping her eyes. "And I'm _so_ glad you're okay. Honestly, I'm _still_ not sure King's recovered since _she_ was kidnapped and rap -"

She briefly froze, clearly horrified, while Athena let out a loud gasp.

"Beat up!" Yuri quickly exclaimed. "Kidnapped and beat up, I mean! Because, you know, sometimes you lose fights, right? You know?!"  
"That is _not_ what you were just saying! Yuri! What happened?!"  
"She got… b-b-beat up, that's all it was! ...during a fight! ...you know!?"

Athena gripped her friend's hand just as hard.

"It's true, isn't it?!" she demanded in a hushed voice. "She _was_ raped! Nobody stopped it! ...And it's _broken_ her...!"  
"She - she's not _broken_!" Yuri insisted, ripping her hand from Athena's grasp. "She's okay, okay!? I-I have to go!"  
"Yuri, wait! Talk to me!"  
"You said you had the check, right? Th-thank you for the meal…!"

With that she stood up and dashed off, seemingly near tears. Athena reached out to her uselessly… and then _she_ was in tears, holding her head in her hands. She knew it. She'd known it from the start, but now she _knew _it. Yuri hadn't said much, almost nothing, really... but she'd said more than enough.

_Oh god… Miss King… PLEASE be okay..._

_###_

King yawned. She didn't remember falling asleep, but there she was - in bed with her cat, Marron, resting on top of her feet, while a movie (was that _Iron Man 2_?) played on the television, which was the only lightsource in the room. She wasn't even really sure what the hell woke her, but she reached for her phone to check the time, her vision slightly blurred, and was met by a peculiar notification banner: At the top was a phone number she didn't recognize, while the body of the message was truncated due to length. Brow furrowed, she unlocked the phone so she could see what it said:

"Miss King, I know you told me not to call you again so I'm sending this text instead. I want you to know that I am so, so sorry for what happened to you. I'm sure you're in terrible pain, and it hurts me that someone like you - a role model for girls and women everywhere - has gone through something so awful. I want you to know that I see you, and I am with you. I KNOW I can help you - if you'd just let me. I would really like you to call me back so we can talk. Please! Let me help you‼"

King squinted at the small screen, her heart pounding.

"Putain tu te fou de mois…!" She groggily mumbled out loud. "Comment diable…?"

She didn't know _how_ Athena knew what she knew - which was clearly way too much - and though she was curious as to how that particular knowledge reached the girl… she didn't need this. She didn't need someone prying into her personal life - especially not when she had come so far to get _away_ from all of it. She pressed her lips together as she navigated the menus until she found what she was looking for.

"Help _this_," she grumbled before pressing Block Sender.

* * *

Okay, back to me (illy) for these end notes. Before I start dropping the usual fuckery, I wanna take a moment to thank jojoDO, RobertCop3, and hyetomantis for their continued support. You three have been, like, the real MVPs! The endless enthusiasm, bomb-ass tumblr tags, and overall positivity mean a lot to Mads and myself, so, like... THANK YOU! Okay, let's do this:

* King's aunt's name (Madeleine) is pronounced MAHD-len because she's hella French.  
* King's totally not-canon-even-though-it-should-be real name is Cécile Levasseur, which, when shortened to Céc, plays on the canon "Sis" that Jean always calls her by.  
* It's established in a previous fic that Maddy hates being called Auntie, which is exactly why King calls her that.  
* Speaking of Jean, Jan was a mistranslation of the name. But you should totally know that by now do you even go here?  
* Je m'en fou = super rude way of saying "I don't care." Basically, "I don't give a shit."  
* Salope = bitch  
* You totally read Mads' story, Power, right? Because that's where all of this background about Athena's own experience(s) is coming from.  
* At the end of Much Like Suffocating, King tells Mai, Mary, and Yuri to say she was "beat up" in the event of something like this (somebody prying) happening. This phrasing itself is a reference to the book Hotel New Hampshire, where a character's rape is referred to as her being "beat up." And, because the Universe really seems to hate King, Kyo Kusanagi discovered the true meaning of "beat up" because his girlfriend made him read HNH for school.  
* Putain tu te fou de moi = Are you fucking kidding me; comment diable = how the hell...?

Alright, party people, I think that does it for this installment! Join us again soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all, Rex again. Agreed on the shoutouts to Jojo, Rob and Mantis; you guys are the best. :D I'm gonna try to post some reviews/review replies myself today, or at least over the weekend. Hope to see some of you there, and hope that _all_ of you enjoy!**

* * *

Kensou woke up this time to frantic, harsh choking sounds. Once he was alert enough to look, he realized they were coming from Athena, who was lying next to him in bed - and still asleep.

"Athena! Wake up!" he cried, shaking his beloved. It took a few more frantic seconds before she awoke, gasping for air and looking around with wide eyes. Once she recognized Kensou in the morning light, she winced and started tearing up, quickly moving on to sobbing in his shirt.

"Again, huh…?" he asked softly. (He had already seen it once during the night.)  
"Yes… but no," she whimpered. "Some of Miss King's memories are seeping in now, too. He had his hand around my throat… he _couldn't_ have, he'd have shocked himself, but he did. And he was _choking_ me and I couldn't breathe and it was _so_ much worse and… _Dammit...!"_

The last came with an explosion of sobs, her head in his shirt and her fist pounding his chest.

Kensou felt so bad for Athena he nearly wept himself. He knew the pain that day had caused her; he knew the pain of being tased _personally_. But like before, his sorrow was quickly overcome by rage - rage directed at the wrong target.

"That stubborn psychopath," he seethed. "I'm about to go find her and _beat_ her into talking to you!"  
"It's not her _fault_, Sie," Athena repeated, pulling back to frown at him. "This isn't Mignon, okay? It's a complex situation."  
"...Mignon?"  
"Yes, Mignon. Miss King isn't an enemy. Even her rapist isn't the problem. This isn't some good-versus-evil thing, where you can just go out, catch the bad guy and save the day."  
"Oh. Uhh… right," he muttered, trying to hide his guilt from her.  
"...thanks again for that, by the way," she added, her frown becoming a smile.

She cupped his cheek with her hand and pressed her lips to his own. He kissed her back almost sheepishly, trying to hide his guilt from himself.

Once she pulled away, though, Athena soon looked down and sighed.

"I only _wish_ it was that simple," she mumbled. "I mean, I was going through hell back then - but once Mignon lifted the curse…"

She stopped. Her face paled. She looked up at Kensou, frantic.

"Oh my god… Sie, could Miss King be _cursed?!"_

_###_

Once again, the air conditioning at the Kyokugen dojo was busted, which meant that King's sparring session with Yuri was, once again, a special kind of hell, as it was already over eighty degrees outside. To make matters worse, Yuri didn't seem to be all that into their match: oddly silent and possibly even _nervous_ for some reason, her moves were unusually sloppy; she was making amateur mistakes that kept the fight from being constructive on any level.

However, it wasn't like King was doing any better: Somewhat distracted and sluggish thanks to an uncomfortable night that consisted of tossing, turning, and thinking about things she didn't want to think about, her actions were lethargic, which caused her to outright miss a lot of her moves. Finally, after a botched Tornado Kick that saw her sailing right past Yuri and landing flat on her ass, she shut her eyes and let out a frustrated grunt.

"This isn't working," she stated as she laid down on the floor mat.  
"Nope," Yuri agreed while she plopped onto a nearby bench.  
"What's going on with you?" King asked bluntly. "You're being kind of weird today."  
"_Me_?! _Weird_?! Wh-why would you say _that_?!"  
"Obviously because you're being weird. Is everything alright?"  
"It's perfect," Yuri answered quickly. "Totally… uhhh… great! Great!"

She flashed a thumbs up, which resulted in King making a face. Yuri was, without a doubt, giving off a very unusual vibe.

"You know, you're not exactly yourself either, King-san," the younger woman pointed out suddenly. "Like you're on another planet!"  
"I guess we're both a little out of sorts today… We should just call it."  
"Y-yeah…"

There was a brief pause as King noticed Yuri watching her intently, her large eyes almost manic, while she fidgeted with her belt.

"I kinda feel a migraine coming on," Yuri spoke up so fast that she was almost hard to understand. "So I think I'm gonna try these new gummies I bought. You… you should have some too because you seem like maybe you could relax because you're _totally_ high strung and yeah! Heh, heh… yeah…!"

King thought for a moment. It had been a little while since she shared anything from Yuri's _completely legal_ stash of medicinal cannabis... maybe having just a tiny amount would help take the edge off. Hell, maybe it would even be a little fun? She craned her neck so she could see Yuri better and smiled.

"I'm game," she said as she started unwrapping her hands. "Let's do it."

###

"That's it, isn't it!?" Athena shouted, putting her hands on Kensou's shoulders. "Miss King's been cursed by someone!"  
"Calm down, babe!" Kensou urged. "Why would you think _that_?!"  
"Because it all fits, Sie! It all makes sense! Her getting kidnapped and raped, Big coming back into her life... even her relatives are giving her grief! It's all too sudden, it's all too _random_… just like _my_ problems were."  
"But who in the world would curse her? Who would even _want_ to?!"  
"Well _I_ don't know!" Athena snapped. "I don't know who knows magic and who doesn't!"

Then her eyes widened.

"...but Mignon does."

Athena jumped out of bed (despite wearing _very_ little) and dashed over to her purse. She started digging through it frantically, tossing papers and cards aside as Kensou stared at her in shock.

"_Now_ what are you doing?!"  
"Getting to the bottom of this. Mignon's our only connection to the world of magic. I've gotta find her number, unless you still have it on your phone. _...you don't, do you?_"  
"N-no, of course not!" Kensou hastily replied. "But Athena - this is crazy!"  
"This whole situation's crazy," she muttered. "_Me_ getting cursed was crazy. Why should this be - _ah!_ Got it!"

She pulled an old, beat-up business card out of her purse, holding it up like a prize. Then she rushed back to her phone - but Kensou snatched it up first.

"...Sie. _What the hell_," she growled.  
"I'm telling you, hon - you've got it all wrong!"  
"Yeah? Well let's hear _her_ say that, then!"

Athena reached out with her hand - and her powers. The phone whipped out of Kensou's grasp, landing in her palm. He tried to take it back, but she eluded him; he tried his telekinesis, but it was no match for hers.

"Athena, _stop!_ Don't call her!"  
"And why shouldn't I?!"

Kensou took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh.

"Because there _is_ no curse. ...there never was."

###

It didn't take long for King to start experiencing the effects of the drugs she had taken. Limbs heavy, feet tingling, and hearing slightly muted, she remained on the floor and squinted at the ceiling.

"This doesn't usually work this fast," she told Yuri, who was sitting on the floor a few feet away from her. "You didn't give me more than usual or something did you?"  
"Nuh-no! No! Not at all," came a somewhat strange reply.

King started to laugh: the idea of Yuri slipping her too much THC was somehow hilarious because, really, what would even be the point? To watch her giggle uncontrollably at the cat hair on her clothing? Or ramble on about some random aspect of life? She held onto her sides while she continued laughing, but slowly stopped when she noticed the tension in her friend's posture.

"Okay," she sighed as she willed herself to get a grip, "Why are you being so goddamn… god_damn_…!?"  
"Wha - what does that even mean? No one's being -"  
"You were being strange even _before_ the tournament match - like you were legitimately afraid that I was going to hurt somebody. And, now -"  
"Well, yeah, but, like… you actually _did_, King-san."  
"The entire _point_ of King of Fighters is to hurt people! But that's not the point. The point is that you - _you_! - have been odd today. Between this and Asamiya, I might go raid the bar for some vodka. There's this new rosé stuff that looks interesting..."  
"You - you mean Athena?"  
"Pfft, yeah," King chuckled. "What other Asamiya is there?"  
"What… what happened between you two, anyway?" Yuri inquired while absently running a hand through her hair over and over. King grinned; it looked like Yuri might have been starting to feel the effects of the spiked candy, too.

"Does it really matter?" She answered nonchalantly. "It's just more bullshit I don't need."  
"Bull… crap? What kind of, uhh… bullcrap?"  
"I already told you - she's… it's like she _knows_ that something happened to me. I just don't understand _how_. _How_ would she know? Did she pull it right out of my head? Like some crazy X-Men shit?" King paused. She put her hands up and, with a wayward chuckle, wiggled her fingers.

"Spooky."

Yuri let out one of the most unnatural sounding noises King had ever heard; it was somewhere between a snicker and a gag. Nevertheless, she stopped gesticulating so she could lace her fingers behind her head, and shut her eyes while time itself began to feel distorted.

"H-hey, King-san," Yuri started, her voice lazy. "What do you think you would do if she really _did_ know? Like… that you were..."  
"I'unno. She's tried to contact me about it twice now… so I blocked her number."  
"She just wants to help you though. She's really concerned."  
"Wha - how do you know that? I never said..."  
"That is… I, uh… I have to tell you something…?"

King furrowed her brow, a pit starting to form in her stomach.

"You guys talked…? About _me_?"  
"Well… kinda. I mean… we went to dinner, and, uh... y-yeah," Yuri admitted.  
"Well, what happened?! What did you say?!"  
"Nuh-nothing! Nothing! We just ate cheesy biscuits and talked about stupid things like… like idioms! And politics!"  
"Your poker face sucks, Yuri! What did you tell her?!"

Instantly, Yuri began to well up. King, wide-eyed, bolted upright and stared at her in disbelief.

"You didn't," she stated, her voice just barely above a whisper.

###

Slowly, Athena lowered her phone.

"...what do you mean?" she asked cautiously.  
"Mignon never cursed you," Kensou confessed. "There _are_ curses, but they're really rare. Mignon can't even do them."  
"But… but she _un_cursed me. You saw that."  
"Yeah - and it was nonsense. She's showed me some of her spells, and none of them looked anything like that."

He winced then, as he realized Athena might not take _that_ too well either. Luckily she was still so shocked it slipped right past her.

"...why did you lie to me?" she finally asked.  
"Because we _weren't_ going out. We'd never even _talked_ again till then. And because… you needed a crutch."  
"A crutch for _what?_" she shot back, the anger starting to flow.  
"For your outlook," he told her. "You were down, honey… more down than I've ever seen you. Even when good things were happening, you couldn't see them."  
"_Nothing_ good happened to me back then!"  
"Well… what about me?"

She blinked. She blushed. She turned away.

"...don't try to guilt your way out of this," she grumbled. "_You_ were wonderful - but nothing else."  
"The lifetime achievement award? All the progress with your powers?"  
"What are you getting at, Sie?"  
"All the things that sucked back then made you think your whole _life_ sucked. And when you're thinking like that, well _yeah_, it's probably going to. But the truth is, bad things just _happen_ sometimes. Remember how after you lost the 'curse', your car broke down? It didn't even phase you, because you'd gone back to seeing the _good_ things too."  
"...was that really that week?" she asked, frowning.  
"See? It helped you out in the end!"

But Athena's frown deepened as she turned back towards him.

"Well that's _some_ kind of help, Sie," she stormed at him. "You lied to me, plotted against me, talked about me behind my back… let me think curses were _real_, that they happened all the time… even that I had an enemy who could do it again at any moment!"  
"You haven't seemed worried about it..."  
"Only because we have a _truce_. ...and because she practically peed herself when I said I would torture her."

(_That_ made her smile at least, if only for a moment.)

"...seems like _you_ were worried, though," she went on, narrowing her eyes. "If you weren't, why did you ask her about it? And if you _were_, why aren't you worried now?"  
"Because the one with the idea? That whole _philosophy?_ It was Mignon."  
"Mignon?!"  
"I _did_ think she might have cursed you. But when I confronted her, she convinced me she didn't do it and made me realize it was all in your head. She came out to check you and make sure, though, just to humor me… and when you found us, _she_ thought up the fake out. _She_ took the fall."

Athena stared at him... but _past_ him, lost in thought. Then she turned to the side, putting her chin in her hand. (Despite it all, Kensou couldn't help but admire her half-naked figure.) She pondered for a moment more… then, slowly, turned back to him.

"So let me get this straight," she began. "Right after we became a couple, you went out with another girl. She tried to take you from me, and she nearly succeeded. She was _actually_ a witch, but she kept up the feud using sneezing powder and fake pencils. Once you knew she was doing it, you thought she might be doing more - but she proved that she wasn't, made sure _nobody_ was, then risked her life to save mine, because she likes you _that much_."  
"...Yes."  
"Give me one good reason I should believe any of that."  
"Ummmmmm… I love you?"

She glared at him like he was the stupidest man on the planet. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her mind racing with all the things she could shoot back at him. All the lies, all the schemes, all the excuses - and he _loved_ her? Like that made everything _better_, like - like it meant he would _never_ hurt her, like he _always_ had her best interests at heart?!

...and then… slowly… the anger faded away.

"You _do_ love me, don't you?" she murmured, cocking her head.  
"...eh?"  
"You've loved me almost since you saw me," she went on matter-of-factly. "You wanted to be with me for ages - but you never pushed too hard. Now that you are, you've been having the time of your life... except for when _my_ problems get in the way."

_Holy shit, did that actually work...?_

"Why would you hurt me now?" she concluded, her fists unclenching. "Why would you two-time me now that you finally have me? Why would you say such crazy things without a good reason...?"  
"I wouldn't," he promised. "I would never. Do _any_ of it."

With a small smile and a single tear, Athena came back to the bed. She laid down, then kissed him again, the second she was able. This time Kensou responded in kind, well aware he was in fact the _luckiest_ man on the planet.

"...so...what are you thinking?" he finally asked.  
"I'm thinking this changes things," she answered, settling back onto her pillow. "A _lot_ of things. ...maybe everything."  
"Even with King?"  
"No, just with _my_ whole life, that's all."  
"Aheh. Sorry, hon," Kensou mumbled.  
"I'm just teasing," Athena assured him. "I'm still gonna do the same thing about King I thought of last night. ...and should've _done_ last night, frankly."  
"And that is...?"  
"Well, it turns out Yuri isn't the only friend we both know. Apparently, since the assault, King's been talking to none other than Kyo Kusanagi."

Kensou blinked.

"...you're going to call your old high school crush?"

Athena glared.

"...shutting up."

###

King jumped to her feet, hands shaking, and overall slightly unsteady because she was almost positive she had somehow hopped dimensions. She had an overwhelming urge to vomit, but instead, she swallowed hard - effectively forcing anything that was about to come up right back down.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," she said in a low, trembling voice. "What. did. you. tell her?"  
"I said you got beat up! Like we talked about! That's - that's what… I mean… but she just…"  
"She figured it out. And you didn't deny it."

It wasn't a question.

"She… and I accidentally… I-I-I'm sorry!"

King stared at Yuri in complete shock. Her chest began to feel tight despite how relaxed the drugs made the rest of her body, and breathing like a normal person seemed almost torturous. She placed her hands on her knees and squeezed her eyes shut as she worked to get her breathing under control.

"K-King-san…?" Yuri ventured timidly.  
"_Y-you_..." King gasped between breaths.  
"Deep breaths, okay? Deep -"  
" ...blathering… BITCH!"

Yuri instantly started crying but King didn't give a damn. She felt so hurt - so _betrayed_… and so _angry_. She was trying to do everything in her power to stay calm, but it wasn't working, as there was no way in hell she could possibly keep her composure in the face of something like _this_.

"After all this time," she shouted in disbelief. "After all this time… _how could you_?! You were there - you _saw _what he did! And you promised! You _promised_ that you would _never_ say anything! To _anyone_ \- not even your own goddamn family! I _trusted_ you to not say a word! But then this girl comes along… and you just… you told her - just like that!?"  
"Céci -"  
"Don't you _dare_!"  
"K-King, please! Just list -"  
"FUCK YOU!"

With that, King snatched her gym bag, her eyes burning with tears she was trying not to shed, and stomped toward the exit. She heard Yuri call after her but there was absolutely no way she was going to stay and listen to her bullshit. She had gone back on her word and told a new person that King barely even knew that she had been sexually assaulted, completely violating her trust. She didn't deserve a goddamn thing.

Out of nowhere, King found herself colliding with… something in front of her. She angrily looked up - right into the concerned face of Yuri's brother, Ryo.

"King?! I heard yelling! What -"  
"DÉGAGE!" King bellowed, pissed off at the entire universe. She ducked her head and hastily rushed past Ryo, her vision blurry as hot tears finally began to cascade down her cheeks.

* * *

_It's a me - illy! As always, a couple of little things:_

_* If you haven't read Mads' Curses, then you should probably do that so that you can better understand the backstory with Mignon here. Fuck it, just do it, period, because it's really good!  
* So, if you've been going here long enough, then you should know that I have set Southtown in California (loosely based off of San Diego for reasons I've outlined over on my tumblr and no I give zero fucks about what the wiki says, that thing is a mess), where edibles are totally legal. Also, remember that THC is the stuff that makes you super high. It makes King very giggly, among other things.  
* The Ros__é vodka is something I actually saw at the store! It's put out by Svedka and I'm assuming it's widely available? East Coasters, let me know.  
* Dégage is usually used to say "get out" but in this context it's "piss/fuck off." Yeah, yeah, Ryo didn't do anything, but King's extremely angry, okay?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all, Rex again. Shoutout to BlueIndigoColor for giving us a looksee! ...I _do_ hope you go back and read the source stories, though. ;) Little background for this one, since I'm not sure I've ever specified: in KOF: Kyo and some other things, Athena had a crush on Kyo during the Orochi Saga - but it hasn't come up again since. I've taken this to mean she got over it soon after, and these days they're not much more than old friends. In fact, in _this_ continuity, King's better friends with him at this point XD Hopefully this'll give you some context for the upcoming scene. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was a _very _long wait until morning.

Not Athena's morning, of course. She'd already finished hers. But the tournament's first round had taken place in multiple venues, and she happened to know Kyo had fought in Japan. If she'd called right away, she'd have gotten his voicemail, and he'd always been terrible about checking his messages. She'd be better off waiting for morning _his_ time, which was about three o'clock Southtown's.

This gave her plenty of time to ponder the fact that months of her life had been a lie.

It was incredible to think about. Unreal... _awful_, even. The "curse" had been a major life event, something she'd chalked several incidents and a serious depression up to. Now she had to come to grips with the fact that these things just happened - that into even _her_ mostly-charmed life, a _lot_ of rain could fall. It was hard enough believing she'd had so many setbacks so quickly; it made her wonder if (and dread that) it would happen again. But the idea that _she_, Athena Asamiya, could stop noticing the good things in life was horrifying. She hadn't even done that when her parents abandoned her... _when she was fourteen_.

She thought about it alone. She thought about it with Kensou. She even called Master Chin to discuss it (though that went poorly, since he just kept nagging her to investigate this new power of hers). And after all that, she got nowhere, still not understanding her depression or her run of bad luck. So when three o'clock rolled around, she put _that_ on King too, telling herself if she could solve King's depression she could solve her own.

Unfortunately, her path to solving it went through Kyo Kusanagi.

Athena pulled up his contact on her phone with trepidation, having no idea what to expect. While she still counted him as a friend, it had been _ages_ since she'd talked to him, at least at length. She didn't even know what he was up to these days, let alone how he knew King or her secret. Still, they had always gotten on well in the past; _talking_ to him should be easy enough, she figured as she tapped the Call button and put the phone to her ear.

_Unless King's gotten to him, too,_ she thought as it was ringing.

"...Athena? Is that _you?_"  
"Hey, Kyo," she replied, unconsciously smiling at his voice. "It's been a long time, huh?"  
"Heh, sure has," said Kyo, _sounding_ like he was grinning. "I don't think we've talked since the last King of Fighters. It's good to hear from you!"  
"You, too. And congratulations on your win!"  
"Pfft, don't give _me_ the credit. Beni and Shingo did the work."  
"Poor Heavy D!. His first time back in decades, and he didn't even get to fight."  
"Yeah, they got a bad draw," he said matter-of-factly. "...and I guess you kinda did too, huh?"  
"I guess so, hehe. Miss King was very determined this time."  
"Well, you can't really blame her. She's had a pretty rough year."

_Bingo_, thought Athena, smiling.

"Yes, about that. Have you - "  
"So, you finally caved in, huh?"  
"...eh? What do you mean?"  
"You know, with Kensou. I always knew he'd get you someday."

The blood _rushed_ to Athena's cheeks.

"I did _not_ 'cave in'," she told him, looking around to make sure she was alone. "I thought of a fun way to give him a chance, and he proved he was worth it."  
"A _fun_ way?" Kyo snickered. "What does _that_ mean, exactly?"  
"Oh, you know. The contest?"  
"What contest?"

Her jaw dropped.

"Ah - are you kid - you're telling me of _all_ the people, in _all_ the King of Fighters circuit, _you're_ the _one guy_ that doesn't know we had a contest!?"  
"I guess so, heh. Care to enlighten me...?"

Well of course she _had_ to do that, so Athena spent the next few minutes getting Kyo up to speed, forgetting King's woes entirely. She got more and more agitated as she spoke, as Kyo seemed to know _nothing_ about it. What, had he been living under a rock for the last year?

"I can't believe you, Kyo!" she said when she finished, her face red for a different reason. "Aren't we supposed to be friends?!"  
"Of-of course," he stammered, pretty subdued by then. "But we don't talk much anymore, you know? I mean, do you know what _I've_ been up to lately?"  
"...well, no," she admitted, "but everybody _else_ knew about this. It seemed like pretty big news at the time."  
"Ehhh, I don't pay much attention to celebrity gossip..."  
"Ce - celebrity goss - !?"  
"Look, Athena," he cut in before she could explode, "this's how it goes, okay? People get older, they go in different directions, they lose touch. It's not terrible, or worth fighting over. It just... happens."

It might've been the saddest thing she'd ever heard.

"...so this just happens too, huh?" she asked, her voice catching.  
"Yeah... Athena, are you alright?"  
"S-sure, I'm okay," she lied. "It's just... Can we keep in touch more often? If you don't mind?"  
"Okay, cool. I'd like that."  
"Cool," she said, smiling and wiping her eyes.

Silence.

"So... if you didn't just call to catch up… what is it?"

_...oh, right!_

"Well, it was about Miss King, actually. You said she'd had a rough year, right?"  
"Oh. W-well I mean, she's just had some tough times at the bar. And with relationships and stuff."  
"Did something happen to her?"  
"Uhhh...kinda? She got, ah, _beat up_ pretty bad a while back."  
"...nice try, Kyo. I read _Hotel New Hampshire_ that year, too. Besides, I've already talked to Yuri."  
"Oh. ...well don't _I_ feel like an asshole."

_Of all the things to make him think it,_ she mused, stifling a giggle.

"You're not an asshole," she assured him, blushing a bit at the word. "...she's still pretty shaken up, though, huh?"  
"Yeah, it really sucks. Lady used to be fearless to a fault, you know? Then somebody puts a gun to her head, and poof. Done."  
"So that's how they got her," said Athena, cringing.  
"Yep. She can't stop bullets, like you and I can."

_Can he stop bullets? ...can __**I**_ _stop bullets?_

"...what else do you know about it?" she asked instead.  
"Not much. Just that that scumbag Big was involved, and - "  
"You know how Big's involved?!" Athena cut him off, her eyes wide.  
"A little. He ordered the hit, I think. Then he came to her bar to rub it in... and she kicked his ass, heh. Got some payback, and got him off her case - but it didn't help much."  
"Yeah, it takes more than that," she said sadly (and knowingly).

She only got sadder as Kyo let out a huge sigh.

"I wish I knew how to help her. But it's just, like… nothing works."  
"Well, that's another thing," Athena pounced. "I was hoping to try to help Miss King, too. Do you have her address, or some other way to contact her?"  
"You wanna talk to _her_ about it?" Kyo asked incredulously. "...you know she'll kill us if she finds out _we're_ talking about it, right?"  
"Don't worry, I'll keep your name out of it."  
"Alright, I guess… but why not just her phone number?"  
"She kinda… already… blocked it," she mumbled.

But as embarrassed as she was, she didn't expect Kyo's reaction.

"...have you been bugging her about this?"  
"Eh? W-well, I wouldn't say _bugging_…"  
"Asking her about it? Still asking after she said to leave it alone? Using her friends to snoop around for details?"  
"Wha - !? I wasn't _using_ you…!"  
"That's not what I meant, okay? I just mean I know how you get sometimes," Kyo told her. "You find someone hurting, you feel bad for 'em, and you make it your mission to save 'em. You know by _now_ that you can't save 'em _all_, right?"  
"Of _course_ I do. But I know I can help _her_ if she'll just listen to me!"  
"How? She's already talked this thing to death. Why would talking to _you_ be any different?"  
"Well… I think I'll have a different perspective."

That was all she was willing to say.

Vanessa, okay. Yuri? Absolutely. But as she'd planned out this phone call, Athena had found she did _not_ want some people to know how close she'd come to being raped. The public, of course, but also some of her friends - especially Kyo. She didn't think she'd become a different person to Yuri; with Kyo, she didn't know… and she didn't want to find out.

Unfortunately, "that" wasn't good enough for him.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he almost laughed. "_What_ 'different' perspective?"  
"Kyo…"  
"Being a girl? Yuri and them have _that_ covered. Being a casual acquaintance? That's where _I_ come in. Knowing how the mind works better? Her therapist probably still beats you."  
"I just _do_, okay!? Will you -"  
"You're not stronger, or _weaker_, than everyone she knows. You're not bigger or smaller or smarter or dumber. Your attitude's not _that_ different, and your career's too different to matter. What have you done, what's been done _to_ you, that..."

He trailed off.

_...FUCK!_

"Athena...?"  
"Do you have King's address or not⁇"  
"Uhh… yeah. Lemme text it to you."

Neither of them said a word. Within seconds a soft ding sounded, letting Athena know that Kyo's message had come through.

"Ok, got it," she said curtly. "Thanks."  
"Sure. And Athena?" A pause. "...call me, okay?"  
"Right. Sure."

_Maybe._

Athena hung up, put down the phone, and curled in on herself. All the nausea she'd held back with rage hit her full force. She wanted to throw up; she wanted to _punch_ something. She wanted to block Kyo's number and never talk to him again.

_...well at least now I know how THAT feels, too._

Eventually, though, she saw another good side to this. Kyo had been protective of King - had been his usual asshole self - until he'd learned Athena had had a similar experience. The same thing had happened with Vanessa and Yuri, too - minus the assholish-ness. She hadn't gotten their attention until she got to the _point_, either by choice or by accident.

When she talked to King this time, she would make sure it was by choice.

###

That evening, King sat at her dining table, still in her workout clothes, somewhat drowsy and nursing a very large glass of wine. She wasn't sure of how much alcohol she had already consumed - all she knew was that the bottle had been new when she started… and now it wasn't. She stared blankly at the call timer on her phone as if the ticking numbers were somehow really interesting even though they were just… ticking numbers.

"Bb," Mary's voice issued from the speaker, clear and almost child-like. "Listen to me. I know this is incredibly shitty, but you _have_ to keep your head on straight, okay?"  
"Mm-hm," King hummed in response, unable to really do much else. It was as if she was in a haze - as if the morning's events were just some far off dream… and sleeping through the entire afternoon certainly didn't help that surreal feeling at all. The only thing that had really kept her tethered to reality was how upset she was - at everyone. She was upset with Yuri for breaking her trust and she was upset with herself for flying off the handle and she was upset with Athena for digging things up and she was upset -

"Hey, did you hear from Kyo yet?" Mary inquired, jarring King out of her thoughts. "Because you know he might be in this just as much as Yuri..."  
"Nope. The bastard hasn't called me back…! I'unneven know where he _is_!" King answered miserably, her words slightly jumbled.  
"Seriously?"  
"Seriously. But it prob'ly doesn't matter anyway. His bitch _girlfriend_'s prob'ly all, 'You're not allowed to call Frenchie anymore! Rargh!'"

Mary laughed, as King had done a raspy, angry voice for that last statement. King briefly chuckled as well, but was immediately thwarted by her feelings of depression and rage over the situation at hand.

"I still can't _believe_ this," she sniffled while wiping her eyes. "She… I _trusted_ her…!"  
"I know, bb. But please - do me a favour and try to keep it together until I can get there," Mary necessitated.  
"You don't _have'ta_ come over," King replied. "I have Marron. And _wine_."  
"But that's exactly what I'm worried about. I don't want you to overdo it."  
"What does it matter? Maybe if I get drunk enough I _won't_ wanna strangle Yuri with her own vocal chords."

There was a sigh from Mary before she spoke again.

"How much have you had to drink?"  
"Definitely not enough."  
"It's just wine, right? Please tell me it's just wine."  
"Just wine, but'm pretty sure 'm still a little high, too -" King took a sip of her drink - "because I think she _lied_ about how much THC was in the candy she gave me."  
"You had edibles?! This just keeps getting better and better," Mary remarked. "How much did you take?"  
"I had three gummies. She said they were only fi -"

At that exact moment the doorbell sounded, stopping King's sentence dead. She pulled herself completely upright and glanced over at the door.

"What is it?" Mary asked.  
"Someone's outside. If it's Yuri I reserve the right to _garrote_ her."  
"If it's Yuri, don't answer. I don't want to have to arrest you."  
"You wouldn't _have_ to arrest me because I'd turn myself in," King told her earnestly. She went on in a somewhat high-pitched, saccharine voice: "'Hi, officer. Yes, I jus' _murdered_ Yuri Sakazaki. _Why_? 'Cuz she _told a celebrity_ that I've been _raped_.'"  
"I'm trying really hard not to see the humour in that, I am, but… Are you gonna get the door?"  
"Ugh. Why do you always make everything so _hard_, Mary?"  
"Just go handle it, Céc. Carefully. And no more alcohol!"  
"Je t'aime," King drawled innocently before hitting the red receiver button. She rested her chin on her hand and shut her eyes; it felt almost like she was sitting on a boat with the way the room was steadily rocking back and forth. It was a little disturbing, but somehow peaceful at the same time: It was just her… at the table… alone with the cat… the cat who didn't give a damn about who had been inside her and why… who would never do something so fucked up as to throw her trust out the window over a few cheesy biscuits...

The bell sounded again, and was followed by a soft knock, reminding King that someone was still outside. With a sigh, she slowly rose from her seat and went to the door, where she promptly looked through the peephole. She recoiled, almost as if she had been hit, shook her head in frustration, and turned away completely so she could go pick up her drink. She made her way back to the entry, wondering why she was even going to bother with this shit in the first place. Was it masochism? It must have been masochism. Nevertheless, she undid the locks and pulled the door open.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was instantly cut off by the young woman in front of her.

"Miss King… I was nearly raped," said Athena Asamiya.

King took a sip of wine, totally unfazed.

"Congratulations."

* * *

_Awwww shit you guys! Here comes illy with the end notes because of course._

_Okay, so not really a whole lot to go over here:_

_* Japan is sixteen hours ahead of Southtown, which means that 3:00 PM for Athena is 7:00 AM for Kyo._  
_* If you're new, the contest Athena is referring to is, of course, from The Deal_  
_* Refresher course: Kyo finds out from Mai ("off-screen" in MLS) that King was "beat up." However, he had actually read Hotel New Hampshire for an extra credit project at Yuki's behest, which is how he knew that "beat up" was a euphemism for something worse. (Mai is also how he got King's address to go see her at the end of MLS.)_  
_* "But I thought Kyo and King knew each other? Why'd he have to get her address from Mai?" Because King and Kyo were casual acquaintances. They're a little closer now since he knows about what happened, but she still keeps him as distant as she can given the circumstances._  
_* King thinks Yuki is a bitch because reasons_  
_* Let's talk about THC! There's actually a handy-dandy edibles dosing chart floating around online that tells you exactly what to expect depending on how much you take. In King's case, the norm is probably about 15mg... she's a big chick, she can handle it. HOWEVER. Yuri's candies (go look up Kushy Punch THC gummies) are 10mg each (but, yes, Yuri lied about how much was in them and told her they were only 5mg each). That means King has ingested 30mg - double what she would usually take. And since she doesn't take it all that often to begin with, well, you can see how she would still be a little high hours later._  
_* Je t'aime = I love you_

_That's all for now folks! Once again, Mads and I totally appreciate you taking the time to read (and hopefully review because reviews sate lizard brain). See you next time~_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey all, Rex here. Whew...this one was a doozy! There were some rough spots, tbh; we both love our characters to death, and they did _not_ always wanna cooperate. XD But it was still tons of fun finally getting them back together. _One_ of us was giggling like a schoolgirl half the time, in fact. (...alright, it might've been me... ^^;) Hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

"Uhm. ...huh?"

Athena blinked rapidly, flabbergasted. That was… not what she expected.

Meanwhile, King turned on her heel, unable to bring herself to even care if Athena followed her inside. Her statement was probably really fucking harsh, but it didn't matter; she said what she said goddamnit. And she wasn't done, either, because she was angry, and sad, and hurt, and full of substances that - in her case - facilitated _painful _honesty.

"That makes you, like… _what_?" she asked while she sauntered over to the dining table. "Just like _most_ women and girls. Good for you for owning it, though."

Athena stayed silent as she shut the door behind her, still not quite able to process that her confession hadn't worked (much less that it had failed so _spectacularly_). She frowned while curiously taking in her surroundings: the open floor plan was spacious, and the light grey walls were somehow relaxing as opposed to dreary. A chunky, brown tabby cat stood out against the mostly monochrome colour scheme of the apartment as it stared curiously from the kitchen entryway.

"That's Marron," King informed her guest as she sipped her wine again.  
"...He's cute…"  
"He's kinda a dick sometimes but you can pet 'im if you want."

On one hand Athena wanted to take King up on the offer because cute. But on the other, that wasn't what she was there for. She was there to try to help King, not make a new feline friend (though that definitely wouldn't be a _bad_ thing).

"Anyway," King told Athena, "I was almost raped once, too - by a couple'a guys in a gang - the Black Cats. Luckily somebody saved me - local celebrity, you've prob'ly heard of him but that's not important. It left a bit of an impression to say the least. I'd stay up at night and wonder what would'a happened had I _not_ been helped. Trained like a crazy person so I'd never be in that position again."

Athena furrowed her brow, confused. Where did "almost" come from? _Guys_? Her vision - King's memory - only showed one attacker, and both Yuri and Kyo confirmed -

"And then I actually _was_ raped," King stated bitterly as she picked up her bottle of wine from the table. "Not 'almost.' _Was_. From start to finish - but you knew that already. ..._Thanks_, Yuri."  
"Please don't blame Yuri. It's not her fault," Athena told her, "I saw it… during our fight."  
"One! _Don't_ defend her," King yelled. "She went back on her word - _destroyed_ my trust in her! And two! ...I thought you couldn't read minds?"  
"I usually can't. It's only happened one other time, when Iori was trying to kill Kyo. I couldn't see everything, though - just flashes. Just enough to know… that something went terribly wrong."

King squinted at her and pressed her lips together, evidently deep in thought. Something flashed across her tear-stained face - something that Athena couldn't quite pin down. She was about to speak, but King beat her to it:

"What else would you like to know about?"  
"Huh...?"

King crossed the room in several long strides (though Athena couldn't help noticing that her gait was a little precarious) and carefully placed the wine on the coffee table before clumsily sitting down on the sofa and settling back against the dark grey cushions, her posture strangely relaxed. She briefly glanced down into her glass, absently swirled the liquid around, and then focused her eyes directly on Athena.

"Should we start with the _beating_? When I couldn't fight _back_ 'cuz I had a pesky li'l concussion? Or… how _about_… when he cracked my ribs and choked me? Did you know that autoerotic asphyxiation is a thing? Some people _really_ get off on being choked during sex. But not me."

King paused so she could finish off her drink.

"Or, _maybe_," she said, the alcohol _really_ starting to affect her, "you'd like to hear about the things he made me _say_ to him. Things that I wouldn't say even during the _kinkiest_ sex with a _loving_ partner. Oh, an' it was all in French, too. 's not a beautiful language like most people seem to think. Either way, I was so fucked up by the end of it that I couldn't even speak English for a few minutes. Ooh - and at _Thanksgiving_! My _aunt_ found out an' told me that I prob'ly _enjoyed_ it! Now, with _that_ being said… Where would you like me to begin? Or did you already pick all of _that_ outta my head, too?"

Athena looked away from King, who was glaring at her so intently that it was actually bordering on frightening. (Vanessa _did_ describe her as "intense"…) She _was_ a little curious - as terrible as that was - but just the bits she'd heard already had her near tears.

"I'm not here for the gory details," she answered, squaring her shoulders. "I _can_ hear them, if you need me to. But what I want to know is how you've been coping."  
"'m '_coping_' fine. I've got my friends... I've got my brother. I've got a job that lets me look out for other women - and kick the _shit_ outta men that get violent about it. And, most importantly… I've got my _wine_."

King moved to refill her beverage - but Athena narrowed her eyes and used her powers to forcefully pull the glass from King's hand. It flew about three feet away and landed on the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

"You know I can still drink this, right?" King asked calmly. She started to grab the bottle but let out a tiny gasp when the whole thing went sailing across the room and completely out of her line of sight. A loud crash came from the kitchen, eliciting a scowl.

"I am _not_ going to let you sit here and drink yourself into a stupor," Athena scolded. "Not until I'm done saying what I need to say."  
"And what's that? _Please_ \- tell me your _grand_, _master_ plan that's supposed to help me. Because I was doing just _fine_ before you started this crusade!"  
"_No_, you weren't. That was the whole point of this."  
"'m sorry - are you my _shrink_?! Have you _read_ the DSM-5?!"  
"Well, no, but -"  
"No! Tu n'as pas!"  
" - but doesn't it interest you at all that I've gone through some of this, too? Aren't you wondering what _I've_ felt about it - how _I've_ been managing to cope?"  
"No!"  
"Well why the hell not!?"

King actually giggled at Athena for being so self-involved.

"I barely even _know_ you! And even if I _did_, it's différente - different - for everyone," she retorted incredulously. "You already told me the one _big_ difference - that you were _nearly_ raped. In _your_ case it stopped - maybe you even got to stop it _yourself_. Badass Rank plus one-hundred if tha's the case, by the way. But can you _see_ how that might make it easier for you?"  
"Getting over my assault was _not_ easy."  
"I said easi_er_, damn it! An' what makes you think we feel the same way about this, anyway?! What makes _you_ so qualified to 'help' me?! Because... j'en ai marre de cette putain de merde! Encore et _encore_ avec cette! Je n'ai besoin de tes - bull… _shit_!"

King looked up at the ceiling and ran her hands through her hair, frustrated with everything and everyone. She was so sick of this subject constantly coming up! She had been told that this wouldn't "define" her, and, yet, it kind of felt like it already had: each new person who found out about the attack treated her like she was going to break - and that was the last thing she wanted or needed. The fact that she now had to deal with somebody _else_ knowing (or probably several somebodies, because there was no way Athena didn't tell her boyfriend, and who knew who else Yuri - or maybe even Kyo - might have blabbed to?) was making her angrier by the second, which was turning her already addled thought process into a messy amalgam of English and French.

"...the dreams."

Athena's statement was so random and out of left field that King furrowed her brow, unsure if she even heard her right.

"...Quoi tu par - what?"  
"Ever since I saw your… memory… I've had dreams about my assault. Nightmares where I _can't_ stop it… where _I'm_ raped from start to finish. Like you were."  
"Sorry to hear abou' that, but what does _helping_ me have to do with it? _Or_…"

King trailed off as she had an epiphany. Her head felt so foggy - yet she could swear she was seeing everything so clearly now.

"You're _projecting_…!"  
"What?"  
"You're tryna use _me_ to work through whatever unresolved shit _you_ have going on! But I have news for you: I'm _not_ your salvation."  
"My… 'shit'… isn't unresolved! I've worked through my issues, whereas you -"  
"If you even _think_ about telling me that I _haven't_ been working through this I will - briser… ton - putain... retour…! _Again!_"  
"But I felt it, Miss King! All of that hurt - that anger! It felt _exactly_ how I felt when I was attacked! I got through it back then, and if I hadn't it would've ruined me - just like it's going to ruin you!"

King opened her mouth to reply but then immediately stopped herself, as she was pretty sure she was legitimately on the verge of short-circuiting. Apparently "shrinking violet" had been overwhelmed by "woman on a mission." Maybe it was time to calm the hell down and try a different approach.

"Alright then. So tell me."  
"...huh? Tell you… what?"  
"_You_ said... we felt _exactly_ the _same_, right?" asked King, folding her arms over her chest. "Dans ce cas... I'll humor you. How'd you cope with it? How'd you deal with these _same_ feelings that 'm having?"

Athena paused.

"Well… I thought about how the dreams were just dreams -"  
"And could still _completely_ fuck you up anyway? Next."

Athena winced.

"I thought about… all the good things in life -"  
"And how you'd never notice them again? _Next_."

Athena cringed. That one hit close to home.

"I thought… of how much more life I have to live -"  
"And how you'd really rather you didn't have to? _Next!_"

Now Athena scowled - but King cut her off before she could let her anger take over.

"This's all piddly self-help _bullshit_, Asamiya. 's _not_ gonna help me - and, _honestly_? I don't think it helped _you_, either. If it did, _great_ \- good for you! But I want you to really _think_ about it. _What_, _exactly_, was the turning point for you? What big _revelation_'d you have that made everything okay?!"

Athena frowned again, but decided to humor King in return. She pondered it - went back over her memories. After a moment, she turned to the side, putting her chin in her hand.

And then it hit her.

"...oh my god," Athena whispered, her eyes wide. She actually staggered a little - but managed to recover in time to plop down on the sofa, near King, in a haze.

"What?" King asked cautiously.  
"...it was the curse."

Curse? King pressed her lips together as she wondered if the drugs and alcohol made her blank out for a second, because she was positive she missed something. She drew in a breath and repositioned herself (with some difficulty) so she could look at Athena head-on. The younger woman was staring in the direction of the television, eyes narrowed, obviously thinking hard about something.

"Listen -" King placed her elbow on the back of the couch so she could rest her head (which was suddenly _swimming_) in her hand - "I _think_ you said something 'bout a curse but 'm not sure because - je sais pas si tu as _remarqué_ \- 'm not _entirely_ sober. So you're gonna have'ta explain this to me..."

It took Athena a moment to reply.

"For a while after the assault, my life was pretty bad too. Then, a few months ago, Sie managed to convince me an old rival had _cursed_ me - a real, honest-to-god, magical curse. After we got her to 'lift it', my life turned around completely... but once I found out the truth, I realized it really hadn't. Things were still going wrong, I was just looking on the bright side again. _Months_ of my life have turned out to be a lie... and I think maybe my recovery might've been, too."

She turned toward King, her face ashen... at which point King burst out laughing.

"...is there something _funny_ about this?" asked Athena quietly.

There really, really wasn't... about the last part, anyway. Nevertheless, the first part - the idea of bad luck being caused by a curse - had made it so King couldn't _stop_ laughing. How much THC had Yuri given her?! She took a minute to compose herself - or try, rather - before responding.

"Jus' because you have… _money_… or _fame_… or whatever the fuck _else_ you have, it doesn't mean bad things _aren't_ gonna happen to you! You can be the richest, most famous, most _amazing_ person, but shit's gonna happen - some of it waaaaaay worse than some of it - and you have'ta just… _deal_! That's what '_m_ doing! 'm a mess, but at least 'm _dealing_ with it - without any excuses!"

King covered her mouth as she let out a tiny burp before continuing:

"I have good days an' bad days - an' that's _not_ gonna stop. Yeah, I think about it from time to time - how can I _not_ \- an' it still bothers me… _obviously_… but that's jus' part of the process. 's gonna be part of my life now - forever. But, you _know_… I could have wallowed… _more_… and offed myself by now - _facilemente_! - but I _didn't_ \- and I _won't_. 'm still here - still _fighting_! I am _not_ broken goddamnit! But _nobody_ fucking GETS that - not even _you_! You claim to know how I feel, but you're just as bad as everyone else! And now you're telling me that you honestly thought you felt that way because of a _curse_?! _Really_?!"  
"...well maybe we don't get it, _King_, because _we can't fucking see it_!"

King raised her eyebrows and blinked slowly. She looked more closely and realized that Athena was shaking... seething, actually.

"I don't know how you are to everyone else, but I know how you've been to _me_. You face me in the ring and threaten to _break_ something. You make good on it by breaking my _fucking_ back - and that _hurt_, by the way! Not that you'd know since you never _fucking_ asked! When _I_ call to ask how _you're_ doing, you tell me to go to hell! When I text to give you sympathy, you block my number! And when I actually _come over_ here, you tell me my friend's a terrible person, try to horrify me into leaving, trash my advice before I can _give_ it - and now you're calling me a moron! Because you think _you_ can understand every little bit of _my_ life, even though _you're_ not 'entirely sober'! Can you _see_ how I might think you're not fighting this, King?! Can you see how I might think you're a fucking _mental patient_ who needs all the help she can get!?"

There was a stunned silence between the two... but it didn't last long, as it was broken by King as she started to laugh again.

"You... are… _adorable_!"  
"W-WHAT?!"  
"Sweet li'l Asamiya-_sama_ dropping all those edgy eff bombs! But what's _not_ adorable is that you're making _more_ assumptions! _And_ putting words in my mouth!"

King stopped laughing and let out another small burp before going on:

"I may be _reeeeeeeeeally_ fucked up right now but I know that Ayyyy… I never called you a moron. Beeeee… I never said I could un'erstand ev'ry bit'a your life. Seeeee... I never said anyone was a terrible person - but _that's_ a horse of a different colour. And deeeee - I told you to have a nice life - not to 'go to hell.'"  
"Well you didn't have to _say_ those things - "

King cut her off with another burp - a louder one - before going on:

"What I _did_ do… was break a few bones. _Pour info_, I _did_ feel bad about it, but you _knew_ what the risks of stepping into the ring with me were! An' you know what else?! Fuck you because I'd rather come off as a 'mental patient' than as a nosy, naive li'l girl who… can't… accept quand..."

King's eyes went wide as she threw a hand over her mouth. For a fraction of a second Athena thought that maybe she had had a change of heart midway through her diatribe, but immediately realized how wrong she was when King abruptly pivoted and snatched a small trash bin that was resting on the side of the sofa. She brought it up to her face and puked… violently and loudly.

"Ew," Athena mumbled under her breath while turning her head the other way, though she was actually pretty impressed by how well King's reflexes still worked even while she was under the influence. After about a minute she chanced a peek at the other woman, who had stopped retching and was slumped over the arm of the sofa, eyes shut, not moving.

"Ummm… King…?"

No response.

"H-hey… Ummm…"

Athena climbed to her feet and walked over in front of King (after using her powers to move the trash bin far, _far_ away). She hesitantly peered down at her: she was completely dead weight, her face expressionless, her breathing slow and steady; relaxed.

...Had she seriously just passed out? After all of _that_?!

With a sigh, Athena crossed her arms. She could tell King was in no _immediate_ danger; she'd been around Master Chin long enough to know that much. But at the same time, puking was no laughing matter. If she did it again later - especially _without_ waking up - she could get in trouble pretty quick. Staying over and keeping an eye on things would be the best way to help King at this point.

But did she even _want_ to do that anymore?

She was still shaking. Her face was still red, her heart still pounding. The "mission" had been a total, disastrous failure. She not only hadn't helped King, she'd found reason to doubt her _own_ recovery - a surefire ticket to more of the dreams. And King had been _no help at all_, she thought with a scowl. She'd shown relentless hostility, responded to every word with contempt; it was as if she _wanted_ to hold onto her pain. Right now "stubborn psychopath" seemed like a good term for King.

...whereas _she_, on the other hand, was just a bitch.

The scowl and the trembling faded away as Athena deflated. Never, _never_ in her _entire life_, had she lost her temper like that. And she was counting almost killing Mignon, too. She hadn't wanted to lose it at _all_, much less so quickly and thoroughly. And King had made some good points, she had to admit. These were all _assumptions_ she was making, based on some quick visions and pointed questions to friends. It was just as likely King _was_ fine most of the time... that _she_ had driven her to this madness - to this screaming and crying and drinking.

Keeping an eye out while she slept it off was the least she could do.

_...it's the least I can do. It's the least I can do,_ she told herself as she trudged into the kitchen. Better to focus on that than "what a horrible woman" - or "_you're_ a horrible woman." She cleaned up the mess from the wine bottle quietly, trying to avoid more words with King. Then she got a glass of water, walked to the sofa and carefully sat back down, taking the occasional sip as she tried to lose herself in her phone.

Eventually, Marron slinked back into the room. He examined King for a moment, then, to Athena's surprise, came over and jumped into her lap. She calmed down almost immediately, smiling and setting down her phone so she could pet him properly. He purred at her for a little while, then stretched out across her legs and drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately, she soon did the same...

* * *

_Well! Hello! So, not gonna lie, I had an awesome time with this chapter. I mean... we've got cute little Athena - who has seen some shit - and PTSD disaster bi King finally chatting in person. How could it not have been a good time? Anyway, time for the obligatory notes, which, in this case, will be an impromptu lesson in French for all you non-speakers because you have to remember: King is bilingual, a little high, and drunk. She's going to start crossing her language wires. Anyway:_

_* First off, raise your hand if you caught the Borderlands reference that I snuck in._  
_* When King talks about being attacked by the Black Cats she's referring to an event that happened prior to the first Art of Fighting, where she's defeated by Jack Turner and his gang. I put together my own take/explanation. It's called A Profound Impact and guest stars none other than Terry... Bogard._  
_* The DSM-5 is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders._  
_* Tu n'as pas = You haven't_  
_* différente = different. Feminine._  
_* j'en ai marre de cette putain de merde! Encore et encore avec cette! Je n'ai besoin de tes - bull… shit = I'm sick of this fucking shit! Over and over again! I don't need your - bull...shit_  
_* Quoi tu par = She's beginning to say "what are you talking about"_  
_* Briser = break; ton putain retour = your fucking back._  
_* Dans ce cas = in that case_  
_* je sais pas si tu as remarqué = I don't know if you noticed_  
_* facilemente = easily_  
_* pour info = for the record/for your information_  
_* quand = when_

_Ummmm... I reckon that covers it. Go forth, tell us what you thought! Cheers~!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey all, Rex here. Thanks as always to our loyal readers, including those who didn't get to review us last time. We know you'll get us when you can :) I was a bit surprised, though, that even in the Discord no one seemed to notice we left on a _cliffhanger_. After worrying even more than usual about her dreams, Athena just fell asleep! What turmoils await her, and possibly King if she has to deal with it? You'll find out... very shortly, lol. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

King opened her eyes very slowly. Her head was pounding - it was like she was being hit directly in the brain with a mallet to the beat of a Massive Attack song - and her arm was numb from where she had been laying on it all night. She slowly sat up… and realized with some degree of consternation that she wasn't alone: On the opposite end of the sofa was none other than Athena, who was laying back against the soft cushions, her head hanging limply to the side.

With a half sigh, half grunt, King dragged herself off of the couch, stumbled over to Athena, and stared down at her, overcome by remorse. She remembered everything from the night before: namely, the arguing. Athena had made one hell of an effort to get through to her - only to be drunkenly shot down over and over again. Some of it _was_ justified, though; the girl had come over uninvited (she'd have to remember to ask how she even got her address in the first place...) at a _horrible_ time to give her advice she never even asked for. But, goddamn, had she been mean.

Athena stirred then, and King considered waking her up but decided against it. Instead, she shuffled to her bedroom, where she carried out her morning routine (quickly since she had a guest). Freshly showered but still sluggish, she made her way back to the living room, where Athena remained asleep - with Marron by her side. His chin was on her leg and he was kneading the air in front of him while purring loudly. King made a face.

"Traître," she murmured.

She discreetly walked away and picked up her phone from the dining room table; the lock screen was covered in notification banners: there were numerous texts from Mary, Jean, Yuri, and even Ryo, two missed calls and voicemail (also from Mary), and a couple of random social media updates. She squinted down at the screen: between the confrontation with Athena and the splitting headache she had, the very idea of even _trying_ to read a single text was intensely off-putting. She placed the device back down and moved toward the kitchen, but stopped when she heard a quiet yawn. She turned to see Athena looking directly at her.

"Umm… hey," King greeted her somewhat awkwardly.  
"...Hi."  
"I don't really use my coffee maker... but I can make you something if you'd like." A pause, and then, "It's probably stale, though."  
"No, that's okay. I'm awake."

Silently, King walked into the kitchen and started rifling through a high cabinet that was just above the refrigerator. Meanwhile Athena shyly followed her, making doubly sure she was okay (she'd done a pretty lousy job of it the night before, after all). As she stopped in the doorway, King grabbed a small prescription bottle and started to set it down on the counter, but stopped. She glanced at Athena before plucking a Sharpie from a magnetic basket that was stuck to the fridge; she used it to carefully black out her name.

"I have to keep at least one secret intact," she said pointedly. "...unless you snatched that out of my head, too…?"

Athena couldn't help chuckling while she seated herself on a nearby stool.

"Even if I had I wouldn't tell anyone."  
"Not even your boyfriend?" King asked quite seriously.

Internally Athena cringed, but she managed to keep it off her face as King removed two pills from the bottle and swallowed them without a drink. She then picked up a bottle of Motrin, poured four pills into her palm, and looked down at them before removing a canned DoubleShot from the fridge.

"Isn't the dosage one?"  
"Maybe for you," King replied before downing the painkillers with the energy drink.

It didn't take long for an uncomfortable stillness to descend on the pair.

"So… How much of last night do you remember...?" Athena finally inquired.  
"All of it," King said at once. "Up to and including 'mental patient.'"  
"Oh, god," Athena moaned. "I am _so_ sorry, Miss King. I shouldn't have said _any_ of those things."  
"Why? Technically, I _am_ one," King replied with a shrug.

It was obvious that she was trying not to let that fact bother her, but Athena could tell that it did - especially when she pressed her lips together and fixed her eyes on the cat, who was looking at her expectantly. With a wan smile King picked him up and bumped his forehead with hers.

"Just so you know, this is the only man I'll ever need in my life," she told Athena with a sigh.  
"Well… there's still plenty of _women_ out there."

King screwed up her face in response, which would've made Athena giggle under any other circumstances, but, somehow, it just didn't seem like an appropriate reaction. Instead, she cleared her throat, adjusted her position on the stool, and rested her hands on the counter.

"So I probably owe you an explanation," Athena dictated while lacing her fingers together. "Not an _excuse_ \- just an explanation."

She glanced up at King, who raised her eyebrows, giving her the go-ahead to continue.

"Like I said, the only other time I've seen into someone's mind was with Iori. What I saw was a core of great sadness inside him. But with _him_, I already knew how he was acting: violent and crazy. I didn't know that with you, and yet I still… _assumed_… that your feelings were driving _you_ crazy too. When you got mad at me for prying, I just took it as confirmation. So… I'm sorry for all of that stuff, too."

With a frown King stooped to set Marron down on the floor. She raised herself up to her full height and leaned against the counter opposite Athena.

"A 'core of great sadness,' huh?"

King took a very large gulp of her drink (Athena guessed she must have chugged at _least_ half of what was left in one go) and set it down before crossing her arms. She studied Athena, her expression thoughtful.

"You make a lot of assumptions... But maybe you're not entirely wrong about that last one. There are days where I look at myself and wonder how I could possibly be considered 'sane.' Even before… everything… I think I was probably a little off. And now… well… I try not to think about it - _any_ of it. The things I've done, the things that have been done to me…"

King uncrossed her arms and held her hands out in front of her. They appeared to be shaking very slightly but Athena couldn't be too sure because the movement - if there really was any in the first place - was _incredibly_ subtle.

"I'm still not ready to own the attack," King went on. "Everything else? Fine. But that? I don't care how long it's been - I don't _want_ it. And I'm _tired_ of it coming up again and again and again. I'm _tired_ of people finding out about it and looking at me differently."  
"Well you know no one is seeing you as _weaker_, right?"  
"Ha! That's _bullshit_! You should have _seen_ the way the doctors and nurses - and even the crisis counselor - looked at me when I was in the hospital. Like I was this pathetic… thing - not even a real person anymore. On top of it I had to sign all kinds of papers that referred to me as 'victim.' And _that's_ how people see me. I am the victim of a violent crime."  
"Only to local law enforcement," Athena countered. "You know what _I_ am to law enforcement here? ...a 'genetic mutation of unknown classification.'"

King had to wince at that one. It was true that her and Mary jokingly referred to the girl as a "meta-human" - but _damn_.

"But it's okay," Athena assured her with a smile, "because nobody _else_ thinks that way. Nobody _treats_ me that way - not even law enforcement, usually. It's just a silly label no one cares about but a few jerks in suits. I know my _friends_ don't see me like that - and I'm sure _yours_ don't see you as a victim."  
"You're making another assumption."

Athena frowned, not quite sure how to respond. Luckily King kept the conversation moving, crossing her arms again and looking off to the side.

"...do your friends know about what almost happened to you?"  
"Not a lot of them," Athena replied. "Just Sie and the Master. And Kaoru, sort of. ...and I guess Yuri and Kyo know about -"

She knew her mistake almost immediately. Athena's hands flew to her mouth - which just made things look worse, of course. She peered over at King, who stood perfectly still, her eyes wide.

"Kyo didn't keep his mouth shut either…?!"  
"No! No, he didn't say anything, I swear! I told him beforehand that I knew about it. He just… gave me your address, when I asked."  
"I see," King mumbled, relaxing somewhat. "...well him and I are still going to have to have a… _talk_."

_Sorry, Kyo,_ Athena thought, trying not to cringe.

"But on the plus side," King went on, "it lets me put the ball back in _your_ court. Him and Yuri just found out about it, right? Do they see you differently for that?"

Now Athena _did_ cringe, as she realized she had no idea. Definitely not in Kyo's case… and not really in Yuri's, either.

"Bingo," said King, pointing at her in triumph. "You _don't_ know. We will _never_ know. And _that_ is the problem."  
"But you can't just assume the _worst_, either! You've got to have faith in people!"  
"Tu rigoles non? _Life_ certainly hasn't given me a reason to lately. If ever, really."  
"...Miss King, are you sure you're okay?"

The hated question bubbled beneath King's skin, threatening to make her blood boil. She practically smashed her lips together in a _very_ thin line but managed to keep her temper in check. (Not being drunk and stoned off her ass definitely helped.)

"I. am. _fine_," she answered through gritted teeth. "I already told you how I'm coping: friends, violence, booze."  
"Don't overdo it on those last two," Athena fretted.  
"Yes, _mom_," King retorted, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, you can agree that when you… mind... _probed_… me, I wasn't at my best, right? I mean I don't normally go around breaking backs. ...Anymore."  
"Yes… but what about the rest of the time?" Athena pressed. "What about _just now_, when you said you have no faith in people?"  
"I'm a cynical broad."  
"But you couldn't have _always_ been _that_ cynical."  
"Have you ever tended bar, Athena?"  
"…uhm. …no."  
"As for what you saw in my head, it was just a -" King gesticulated vaguely - "flare. A flare-up. They happen from time to time. They happen less often now, but they're never going to just… stop. _Ever._ ...that's not how scars work."

Athena opened her mouth… and then closed it again, as she found herself nonplussed once more. That might have been how scars worked for _King_ \- but not her. (…Anymore.) A little psychic healing here, a little _fake curse_ there, and she was right as rain. Or at least… she _had_ been.

King didn't have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking.

"You really _did_ think you were cursed, didn't you?" she asked.  
"Yes..." Athena answered, her eyes narrowing a bit.  
"Don't worry - I'm not making fun. I just don't know how Kensou got you to _believe_ it."

King paused for just a second before asking, "You must think you're starting over now, huh…?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Athena sighed, her head slumping. "It doesn't sting as much this morning… but…"  
"Well at least you're not back to square one."  
"What makes you say that?"  
"You didn't have any of your dreams last night. Right?"

She blinked, and then her jaw dropped. She _didn't_! She really didn't…!

"_...why?_" she whispered, more to herself than to King.  
"Maybe _I_ got through to _you_," King told Athena earnestly. "Maybe your subconscious figured out that you don't _have_ to 'help' me - that this is as good as it's going to get. And that it's good enough."  
"M… maybe," Athena admitted, though her _conscious_ mind wasn't too sure.

But then she turned her head as she thought about it… and she saw something else.

"_Marron!_" she cried, pointing at the cat lurking in the kitchen doorway.  
"W-what!?" King yelped, _much_ more affected than Marron (who hadn't even blinked).  
"It was the kitty - _your_ kitty! He slept on my lap last night!" Athena gushed. "He must've calmed me down enough to stop the dreams!"

King raised her eyebrows as she took another swig of her drink, the Motrin not quite working yet. Marron had never been particularly helpful when it came to _her_ dreams; if anything, waking up to him licking her face or kneading her chest or purring loudly in her ear only served to make some of them _intensely _bizarre. Nevertheless, she watched as Athena called the pudgy tabby to her. He sauntered over and, with a grin, she lifted him into her arms.

"You _are_ a sweetie, aren't you?" she cooed, snuggling him (he didn't blink at that either). "Yes… _this_ is what I need…!"  
"You can't have my cat," King intoned flatly.  
"Not _your_ cat. _A_ cat," Athena laughed. "I just need to get a pet!"  
"You have Kensou."  
"Oh, Kensou doesn't count. Boyfriends are _exciting_; pets are _calming_. _That's_ what's gonna help me sleep."

King pushed her hair away from her eyes and blew out a long, heavy sigh.

"_How_, exactly, did you think you were going to help me?"  
"Huh?"  
"You heard me. Because, honestly, _you're_ just relying on quick fixes," King pointed out. "The _cat_'ll help me, the _curse_ was hurting me. It's all bullshit."  
"H-hey now -" Athena started.  
"No, _you_ 'hey now,'" King retorted, calmly but firmly, "You set out to… I still don't really know what in my case, but when it comes to your _own_ problems you fall back on whatever's convenient at the time, be it a curse or a cat. It's great that you want to focus on fixing other people - not that I really _needed_ to be 'fixed,' mind you - but you have to focus on yourself, too."

Athena stared at her for a moment, still stroking Marron. Then she looked down instead, staring at nothing in particular. Finally, she leaned over and put the cat back on the floor, letting him slink away as she sat back up.

"...I think I just grew up a little," she said with a shy smile.

King snorted. "Hey - every little bit helps…"

Before either woman could say anything else, the chorus to Weezer's _El Scorcho_ began blaring from the phone sitting on the dining room table. King narrowed her eyes before stomping out of the kitchen and snatching the device from the table; she held her breath as she glared at the candid photo of Yuri Sakazaki on the screen.

"Se faire foutre!" She practically screamed. Athena braced herself, as King was clearly about to hurl the gadget across the room; however, it was obvious that the other woman thought better of it… probably because of how expensive iPhones were.

"What was _that_?" Athena asked in astonishment, her eyebrows raised.  
"_That_ -" King jammed her finger on the side of the phone, immediately sending the call to voicemail - "was... ...putain de… _Yuri_."

The way King said the name was harsh; it was so full of derision that it actually made Athena flinch. But there was also something else in her tone - an underlying sadness that made her want to run over and give her a hug.

"I really wish… I hope you won't be too hard on her," Athena pleaded. "Yuri tried _very_ hard to keep your secret. She hated it when she told me. And she didn't _cave in_ to do it, either. It just… slipped out."  
"'Slipped out,'" King echoed dully. "That's not something that just slips out. I know her - I _know_ that she has a tendency to be a little flighty sometimes - but we've been friends for _years_! I _trusted_ her, and she just… fucking… threw it out the window! Who knows who else she'll tell! Who else she's _already_ told! Maybe her little college friends? Or -"

King's voice cracked as she abruptly trailed off. She slammed the phone down on the table and pressed her lips together; it looked like she was trying to hold back tears.

"But she _didn't _throw it out!" declared Athena, taking advantage. "She only said it because _I_ kept asking questions - because I told her what happened to me! No one else will do that - and it didn't even _work_! I didn't _convince_ her to tell me, it was just -"  
"_Stupide_," King muttered. "...it's so stupid. I wish she hadn't been there. I wish she hadn't… Then again… maybe it was a good thing? Because now I know what kind of person she really is. And - goddamnit, I shouldn't even be telling you this!"  
"Well I'm glad you are," Athena started. "Because I can't accept it."

King turned to her slowly, her expression difficult to read.

"I'm sorry, Miss King - but I can't budge on this one," Athena told her. "You say you're alright? I'll believe you. You say my subconscious already knows it? I'll find out tonight. But I will _not_ let you cast aside such a wonderful friendship over something _I_ did!"  
"What _you_ did or didn't do is irrelevant! It wasn't her place to say a damn thing to you at all," King exclaimed. She stopped to take a calming breath and continued. "It doesn't matter how similar our experiences might have been - she knew from the start that I… She swore. She _swore_ she would never tell _any_one."  
"But -"  
"There is literally _nothing_ you can say that will make me forgive her. Not for this."

King sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. She looked so down - so _defeated_; it was a very strange sight for Athena, who had only ever observed her as being calm, cool, and content (their recent match notwithstanding). Seeing her hunched over her table, hungover, with tears in her eyes - and dressed in somewhat revealing _women's_ clothing! - was, somehow, almost as unsettling as the flashes of memories she had glimpsed previously.

_...I HAVE to fix this._

Regardless of everything else, King was _hurting_ over this. And since Athena had caused it, _she_ had to be the one to remedy it. She didn't think she could do it right now, though; she'd run out of things to say, for one thing. She needed to regroup, to somehow end this on good terms and -

"...I'm sorry."  
"...what?"

It was the _last_ thing Athena had expected to hear.

"I _said_ I'm sorry," King repeated, a little louder but still in a melancholy tone. She turned her head so she could face Athena, who was still seated at the counter, surprise written all over her face.

"There's no denying that you went about this the wrong way. But in the end, you were only trying to help… and I was a total bitch to you. I can understand why you thought I was losing my shit… I guess _anyone_ would think it, really. So, yeah. I… I apologize."  
"And I apologize for going about this the wrong way. I'll be more careful in the future."

Silence.

"So… are we okay?" Athena dared as she stood up.  
"...We're good enough," King decided.

She held out her fist; smiling, Athena walked over and rapped King's knuckles with her own.

"All right, Miss King," she began. "I think I'm -"

Athena was interrupted when a series of low beeps issued from King's phone. King immediately sat up at full attention and snatched the device from where it was resting; there was only one person who would contact her using Messenger.

"HA! _Enfin_!"  
"What is it…?"

King held the phone up for Athena to see: The younger woman's stomach did a flip as she took in the sight on the display.

"_Shimatta…!_" she blurted out. "Um. W-well! I _really_ think I should be going -"  
"Uh-uh," King asserted while she shook her head. "Not yet."

She used the slider to answer and then immediately tapped the little camera icon - something she almost _never_ did - and held the device out in front of her so that she was completely visible to the caller.

"Kyo! Mon _pote_! Comment ça va?!" King greeted as Athena squirmed off to the side.  
"With video, huh?" Kyo responded, obviously confused. "Nice to actually _see_ you… but why are you speaking to me in French?"  
"Because I'm French."  
"...Right. Well, anyway, I'm just returning your call…"  
"Took you long enough. Is something the matter?"  
"N-no, nothing's wrong! Everything's good - it's just -"  
"Perhaps," King stated slowly, "you have something you'd like to tell me about…?"

Before Kyo could answer King abruptly jerked her wrist so that the phone's screen tilted to the side, revealing Athena. Kyo's face instantly paled.

"Sorry, Kyo," she mumbled with a faint wave. "It just… slipped out."  
"C'est trop _parfait_," King laughed as she turned to Athena. "Okay. _Now_ you can go."

As Athena got the hell out of there, King propped the phone up on a flower vase in the center of the table so that she could pay attention to Kyo once more. She'd never seen so much sweat on the flame-wielder's face.

"Alright, Kusanagi. It's time for us to chat about _boundaries_…"

* * *

_Hi, ladies and gents! It's me, illy, here to grace you with the end notes that you love... to hate. But who else is going to clue you in on all of the French? Or the pop-culture references you might have missed? Or... fuck it. Let's go:_

_* If you're unaware, Massive Attack is a trip-hop band (trip-hop is a musical genre that mixes hip-hop and electronica; lots of bass and drum beats) that was big in the late 90's. Their album, Mezzanine, is brilliant, and you've probably heard "Angel" somewhere at some point in your life because it has been used in many movies and shows over the years (Snatch immediately comes to mind)._  
_* Traître = traitor (but you probably got the gist of that one...)_  
_* Studies have shown that trauma can actually rewire your brain. As a result of this, King is now on medication to try to get back on track, so to speak._  
_* The normal dose for Motrin is one 200mg tablet. Multiply that by four and you have King taking 800mg of ibuprofen for her hangover._  
_* If you are unfamiliar with them, DoubleShots are downright Satanic energy drinks that are mixed with coffee (she says as she drinks one at the time these notes are being put together...)_  
_* Tu rigoles non? = You're joking, right?_  
_* I shouldn't have to explain King's comment about breaking people's backs. She was a bouncer and enforcer for Big. What do you think that entailed?_  
_* King's line to Athena about focusing on herself is something of a callback to a win quote she has against her in KOF XIV. ("Doing this for others is great, but don't forget about yourself.")_  
_* Se faire foutre = Get fucked/fuck off_  
_* Putain de = fucking_  
_* Stupide = stupid (I'm sure you guessed that already.)_  
_* Enfin = finally_  
_* Shimatta = shit_  
_* Previously established in another fic that King usually doesn't answer Kyo's calls with video._  
_* Mon pote = my buddy/bro/pal/dude. You get the picture. Comment ça va? = How are you?_  
_* C'est trop parfait = this is too perfect._

_Sorry so wordy! Thanks for taking the time to read and - hopefully - let Mads and I know what's up. Cheers~!_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all, Rex here. Sorry this one's a little late; we hit a bit of a snag, heh. But now we're trucking again, and we're coming up on the ending fast. ...gonna miss this one, too. It's had its ups and downs, but it's been a very rewarding experience. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Summers in Southtown were always hot, but the temperatures in the city had been downright brutal as of late, with several days throughout the last few weeks dangerously close to reaching triple digits. Despite the ruthless heat (as well as her hangover, which was not treating her kindly) King found herself sitting on a park bench, carefully sipping on a berry smoothie, while Mary - who had quite literally dragged her out of her apartment - sat to her right, casually playing fetch with Anton.

King had - of course - filled Mary in on everything that happened between her and Athena as well as everything that happened between her and Kyo, who had not only apologized profusely for giving out her address without permission, but promised to send her a bottle of the finest Japanese Koshu wine he could find to try to make up for his transgression.

"I still can't believe you puked and passed out on the couch," Mary laughed as she took Anton's drool-soaked tennis ball from his mouth. She hurled it off into the distance and turned toward King, who was scowling.  
"There's no question that I went a little overboard."  
"'A little?' You know you're, like, one step away from being a high-functioning alcoholic, right?"  
"Who says I'm functioning?" King joked despite how disturbing that statement actually was. "But in all seriousness, I had a very good reason for doing what I did."  
"You mean getting wasted and talking shit to a young girl who just wanted to help you?"  
"No, not that! But… I _do_ take full responsibility for being an asshole."

Mary gave King a thoughtful look before turning back to Anton, who had, once again, brought her the ball.

"You're not an asshole. I mean… okay, maybe a little, but whatever, I get it. But you and Athena had a nice, wholesome conversation and made amends, right?"  
"Well, yeah," King answered. "But I don't really know how to feel. It's a lot of emotions."  
"A glass case?"  
"Yes."

Mary snickered while King took another sip of her drink and stared off at some trees that were swaying in the light (and welcome) breeze. "A lot of emotions" was probably an understatement: The stress of being betrayed and the confrontation with Athena had taken so much out of her… and there was still the tournament to worry about. And, if this weather kept up, heat stroke, climate change (not that that wasn't already a valid concern), and mass extinction.

"Okay, so you've talked to both Athena and Kyo," Mary said, bringing King out of her reverie. "So that only leaves -"  
"I don't want to talk to her. Or about her."  
"Bb…"

King pressed her lips together while narrowing her eyes. Just the very _thought_ of Yuri Sakazaki filled her with anger, resentment, and inexpressible heartache because what she did fucking _hurt_.

"There's this part of me that just wants to start spilling _her_ shit," she grumbled despite not wanting to broach the subject.  
"You _know_ that will just make things worse."  
"Oh, but it would be so _satisfying_!" King paused to take another drink. "Do you know how much sex her and Robert are having under Takuma's roof? I could take a black light to her room and it would look like an abstract expressionism painting. They even fucked in the dojo once. She wore pretty pink panties and everything."  
"One, kinky!" Mary chortled. "And, two, Papa Sakazaki seriously thinks she's still a virgin?!"  
"Yep."  
"Okay but how, though."  
"Beats me," King answered. "But the point is that Yuri is not the good girl her dad thinks she is."

There was a brief pause as Anton returned with his toy. Mary scratched his ears and cooed sweet nothings at him before throwing the ball once more.

"No - the point is that you're seriously thinking about airing Yuri's dirty laundry. Aren't you?"

King didn't respond as she placed the cold cup against her forehead and shut her eyes. Of all the people she knew, she never expected _Yuri_ to be someone who would burn her so badly - especially after everything they had been through together. King honestly couldn't wrap her head around _why_ she decided to share something so private - so shameful and devastating - with Athena (who King had only previously known in passing) in the first place. And, although it was petty and childish, she wanted to make Yuri feel the same anguish as her; an eye for an eye and all that jazz...

On the other hand, if she were to tell Takuma Sakazaki that his good, sweet, _innocent_ daughter was being nailed by Robert Garcia on a regular basis it would be cataclysmic at _best_. Yuri's whole life would be thrown into complete and utter disarray. Then again, so would Robert's… and Takuma's… and Ryo's, too…

"Céc."

King opened her eyes and slowly turned to Mary, who was looking at her with a very serious expression.

"Yes?"  
"What Yuri did was really shitty, but you and I both know there wasn't any _malicious_ intent behind it. You, though… what you're thinking about doing _is_ malicious, and it's not a good look. Be the better person and -"  
"Be the better person?!" King interrupted. "Mary, she told Athena a secret she swore up and down she would keep until she fucking _died_ and then lied about how much THC was in the edibles she gave me! How can I trust her after that?!"  
"Okay, yeah, that bit about the edibles was really shady, but what do you gain from revealing her shit? You know you'll just end up feeling bad about it later."  
"You're right - I probably _will_ end up feeling bad about it after the fact, but the look on her face would be priceless."  
"Bb…"

There was a lull as Anton came back and laid down at Mary's feet, tired from running back and forth for so long. King took the opportunity to quickly finish her drink; she walked the now-empty cup over to a nearby garbage can and tossed it in before returning to the bench.

"So, can I go back home to my air conditioner now?" she asked as she lowered herself back onto the hot metal seat.  
"No," Mary responded. Right away King noticed an edge in her friend's tone that she knew all too well. She furrowed her brow while pushing some wayward hair behind her ear.

"Alright. What are you mad about?"  
"I'm not mad."

King gave Mary a pointed look: she started to speak but the smaller woman suddenly wrenched her into a very tight, very clumsy half-hug, half-chokehold. She cried out in surprise and flailed her arms as she was pulled backwards.

"You know I love you and I'm here for you but you're being problematic and stupid, right?" Mary asked with a sigh.  
"I do," King grunted.  
"Just wanted to make sure."  
"I don't want to talk about this anymore."  
"Okay," Mary told her. "We won't talk about it anymore."  
"Thanks," King said with a grateful smile. "Can you stop being mad at me, though?"  
"I told you I'm not mad at you."  
"So… what are you?"  
"Mildly displeased but also a little concerned."  
"Well, can you be mildly displeased and also a little concerned without the clinch? It's too hot and you're sweaty."  
"I have drool on my hand, too. Here."

Mary very deliberately dragged her palm across King's forehead and cheek.

"Quoi ce PUTAIN!?" King yelled as she tried to squirm out of Mary's grasp. "_Ew_!"

Although thoroughly grossed out King actually laughed as she attempted to break out of the hold. However, after a moment, her thoughts about Yuri began to take front and center all over again. She stopped struggling and let out her own sigh.

There was a _lot_ to think about.

###

On the other side of town, Athena had troubles of her own.

Usually Chin would take it easy on his pupils after a major tournament, even if they _did_ lose earlier than they'd expected. But since Athena had insisted on using her newfound free time to try to solve everyone's problems, _Chin_ had insisted they keep up their training on his watch. He'd picked out what might've been the smallest gym in the city, possibly as some sort of punishment; now he had them sparring on one of the protective mats at the back, watching them with an air of exasperation.

Athena wasn't doing much to alleviate it, either.

"I just don't know what to do," she fretted to Kensou, reacting to his attacks on autopilot and barely making any of her own. "I only got through to Miss King before by yelling at her - and there's nothing to yell about this time."  
"Are you sure you should do anything...?" Kensou asked, throwing a swooping palm strike. "I mean… things haven't gone too well so far..."  
"I am _aware_, Sie," she snapped, barely remembering to dodge. "But I can't let my mistakes break up their friendship. That's why I have to make sure that this time, I don't _make_ any mistakes. I've gotta be careful to - "

Right on cue, Kensou managed to sweep her leg, knocking her down to the mat.

"..._please_ focus, Athena," Chin muttered, rolling his eyes. "Pretty please? With sugar on?"  
"Yes, Master. Sorry, Master," she mumbled as she got to her feet.

She made a good-faith effort to do it, too, dutifully exchanging blows with her partner (and keeping up with him this time). But it only took a couple of minutes for her mind to wander again.

"...I wish she could just get her a gift," she mused, right in the middle of blocking a series of strikes. "But I think it's gonna - ngh! ...take a little more than that for this one."  
"You said King's stopped trusting her, right? Maybe take it from that angle."  
"Well yeah, but how do I fix _that_? I don't think _Yuri_ could fix that."  
"She could save her from an accident," Kensou suggested. "Like a car crash or something."  
"You want us to set up an _accident_? What could possibly go wrong⁇"  
"Maybe do one of those 'trust fall' things...?"  
"...did you seriously just suggest that, Sie?"  
"Hey, _I_ don't know," said Kensou, firing off a Chokyudan with a grimace. "I'm no good with trust issues. I only got _yours_ back by lying to you, remember?"  
"...oh, you're right," sighed Athena, turning away (even as she Reflected the projectile back). "I shouldn't be pressuring _you_ with this anyway. I shou -"

Kensou cut her off by plowing into her with a Ryusogeki. The diving attack caught her completely off guard, sending her sprawling to the mat with a frightened yelp. Cringing a bit, Kensou hung back to let her recover… but Chin had other ideas.

"Athena! Shining Crystal Bit! _Now!_"

Stunned by the order, Athena looked up at her master with wide eyes. Once she knew he meant business, she scrambled to her feet, tried to concentrate… and failed miserably. All the surprise, all the distraction, all the grief in her heart made it almost as hard to focus as _physical_ pain.

"Enough," Chin barked, shaking his head. Then he turned to his first pupil and took a more drastic step. "Kensou… will you excuse us for a moment?"

Both students' eyes widened. In the old days, Kensou would've laughed and said, "_Ha_ haa, _you_ got in _trou_ble"... but they were a bit closer (and older) than that now. Instead he glanced at Athena briefly, then nodded at Chin and took off, retreating to the locker room with grave concern on his face.

But the Master was hiding more from Kensou than his words.

"...Athena. What _troubles_ you?" he asked in a gentler tone.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Chin _did_ go easier on her sometimes… but not always.

"It's just too much, Master," she lamented, her head slumping as her arms fell to her sides. "All the time I worried about Miss King, all the trouble getting to her… and now it turns out I've just been making things worse."  
"It wasn't your intent, though," he reminded her. "That's no cure-all, but it counts. And I think what you've _really_ been doing is making too much of things."  
"What do you mean...?"  
"You used visions from a power you don't understand - we're still going to look into that, by the way - to jump to conclusions about King's mindset. But that was only a _sample_ of her thoughts… a brief rush of emotions during a desperate moment. Now you're concluding something similar about her friendship with Yuri, when you don't know all the details of that situation either."  
"But I _saw_ her!" Athena protested. "In real life, this time! I saw how hopeless, how… how _defeated_ she looked! I _know_ she's in pain over this!"  
"And do you _know_ she won't recover from this pain, too?"

Athena opened her mouth, then shut it.

"Maybe she'll forgive and forget over time," Chin went on. "Maybe she's already thinking of ways Yuri could make amends. Or maybe _Yuri's_ thinking of them. She's the best one for it anyway."  
"But Master - "  
"No 'buts'," he said firmly, holding up his hand. "It's frustrating to see you wasting so much time and energy on worry. I won't _forbid_ you to do anything - but I'm asking you to trust in Yuri. _She's_ the one who needs to make this right."

Athena crossed her arms and turned away in a huff. The more she thought about it, though, the more it seemed to make sense. Chin could _see_ the tension slowly draining out of her and smiled. Maybe this foolishness was over...?

"...what would _you_ do, Master?"

Or not.

"Fishing for ideas, are you...?" he asked with a smirk.  
"O-of course not!" she assured him, waving her hands. "Just - curious, is all."  
"Hmph. I hope you mean that."  
"I promise, Master."

Chin smiled again and nodded; Athena _always_ kept her promises. Then he looked down for a moment, considering the question.

"I believe you're right," he said eventually, "to say gifts and schemes wouldn't work. Instead I would try to earn King's trust back directly. I'd think the best way to do it would be to tell her one of _my_ secrets… something so personal, so _intimate_, that it would say 'I trust in you as you can trust in me'. And, more importantly: 'You will always be one of my dearest friends.'"

Tears started to well up in Athena's eyes.

"...you're truly wise beyond your years, Master," she said, wiping them.  
"_Still?_ Well _there's_ a feat!" Chin cackled. "Now. If we continue the session, will you be able to concentrate this time?"  
"Yes, Master."  
"Good. Then sit tight for a bit. ...I'll go tell Kensou you're not dead," he joked, flashing his trademark grin.  
"Yessir," she giggled, smiling back.

As he walked off, Athena _tried_ to sit tight… but her thoughts were going a mile a minute. Chin's advice sounded so _good_ \- perfect, even! Why'd she have to promise not to tell Yuri about it!? ...she _had_ promised, though, she thought as she leaned against the back wall and sighed. She could not, under any circumstances, tell Yuri the idea.

...unless… maybe… she _added_ to it?!

Athena quickly darted into the ladies' room, using it to hide from Chin and Kensou. (She knew they wouldn't like this, even if she was _technically_ keeping her promise.) She whipped out her phone and pulled up the contact, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Then she hit the call button, put the phone to her ear, and waited a full five rings before Yuri responded.

"Hello…?" she almost whimpered, clearly fresh off of crying.  
"Yuri. It's Athena. I think I'm about to cheer you up."  
"...are you calling from a toilet?"  
"Never mind that," said Athena, rolling her eyes. "I have a proposition for you…"

###

King pressed her lips together as she parked her car in an outdoor lot down the street from the Pao Pao Café. She exited the vehicle, paid for parking at the nearby kiosk, and started toward the well-known site, a little perplexed at what she was even doing in the first place. Athena had reached out to her (King had unblocked her number) and offered to treat her to an early dinner as a way to further apologize for their heated argument the night before. Declining the invitation probably would have been bad form, so, despite her malaise (both physical as well as mental), King accepted with the condition that they wouldn't be out for too long, as she still had a tournament she needed to concentrate on.

After a very short walk she entered the establishment, thankful that the air conditioner was running on what must have been full blast, and scanned the area for the purple-haired singer. She finally spotted her a little ways past the crowded bar and quickly made her way over, careful not to draw the attention of Richard Meyer as she went, because she really didn't have it in her to discuss egg whites or muddling limes.

"Miss King!"

Athena waved enthusiastically, her expression equal parts welcoming, enthusiastic, and… relieved? King couldn't help feeling like something was strange, but she pushed her doubts to the back of her mind while casually greeting her companion and seating herself at the table, where a glass of ice water and a menu were waiting for her.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Athena gushed. "We've had such a rough patch lately, and I really, really want to show you I'm sincere when I say that I'm sorry for making so many assumptions about you."  
"It's… understandable," King replied. She took a quick sip of her water before stating, "I'm used to people assuming all kinds of things about me."  
"Like what?"  
"Take a wild guess."  
"But you _are_ a -" Athena's cheeks reddened as she lowered her voice - "a lesbian."

King nearly spit out her drink. While she wasn't exactly surprised that Athena had jumped to that particular conclusion (pretty much _everyone_ did thanks to her moniker and overall appearance) the absolute _certainty_ behind the statement caught her off guard. And while it was true that she was no longer hiding anything in regards to that particular aspect of herself, her past relationships had always been pretty private, and she wasn't exactly one for PDA. Granted, there _was_ that one time… at a booth on the other side of the restaurant… but she couldn't see how even _Athena_ would've gotten word of that.

"I'm bi, actually," King corrected. "You know… both teams?"  
"O-oh," Athena stumbled, her certainty dissolving. "I'm sorry, I… I guess I've done it again, ah heh."  
"Don't worry about it," King told her, smirking as she took another sip of water. "You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last."

The waiter conveniently arrived then, taking their drink orders. Athena asked for a simple lemon tea; King could _almost_ see his face fall at the request. As for her, she settled on a Cloudy Tokyo, as the idea of downing more alcohol in her state was vastly unappealing. Not only that, but she still had to drive home.

Neither woman picked up their menu after the waiter left, which Athena seemed to find odd.

"Do you already know what you're going to get?" she asked.  
"Yep," King answered with a nod. "I come here pretty regularly. This is going to sound a little dorky but they make a mean salad."  
"Oh, that's right - I'd forgotten you were a vegetarian."  
"Well… mostly," King said with a grimace. (Getting her diet back on track was proving more challenging than she ever would have thought.)  
"I am too, pretty much - but mostly to watch my weight," Athena said. "I've gotten a little, ah, _curvier_ in recent years."

King wasn't terribly sure of how to respond to that: if she told Athena that she had, indeed, noticed that her figure was just a little fuller, she would run the risk of making her feel bad. If she said she didn't notice it that would just be another lie for her to tell… and she was _so_ tired of lying. She decided to respond with a low hum and hoped that it would be good enough. Thankfully, it was, and the two continued to make small talk.

Slowly, King found herself starting to relax; Athena just seemed to have that effect on people (which, of course, made her feel even _worse_ about how she acted the night before). By the time their waiter returned she actually felt comfortable enough to order a small appetizer... which turned out to be a good thing, since she wouldn't be making it to dinner.

"I'm glad you're having fun, Miss King," Athena beamed. "And I'm glad things are back to normal between us. ...especially… because… I _kinda_ had a favor to ask."

Instantly, King went back on red alert, a sinking feeling starting to set in.

"...What _kind_ of favor?"  
"Well, you see, Yuri -"  
"_Yuri_?!" King all but snarled, her eyes darting around the room.  
"She's not coming, Miss King! She's… already _here_, actually."  
"_What_?!"  
"You won't see her. She's hidden behind… well, she's hidden. And you don't _have_ to see her - If I give her the signal she'll leave without you ever noticing. But _please_, Miss King… please speak with her. We've talked a bit, and she truly wants to make amends - and I think she might even have a way to do it."

King crumpled her napkin into a little ball and closed her fist around it tightly while pressing her lips together in a thin line. She _knew_ something was up!

"Hang on," she said, her voice calm and measured, "You and Yuri have been talking - unsurprisingly, by the way - about how _she_ wants to make amends for telling _you_ something _intensely personal_ about _me_ that she had no business sharing and, honestly, only knows about because she was there when… because she happened to be there?"

Athena nodded, a little shocked that King would have kept the attack from someone as close to her as Yuri. Maybe Master Chin was right about her jumping to conclusions about the nature of their friendship…? She couldn't think about that, though - she was way too far in it now. She sat even straighter in her chair and looked King directly in the eyes.

"Miss King," she started. "I know you're -"  
"_Don't_," King interrupted. "We've already established that you have a _very_ bad habit of making assumptions about things you don't understand. So, do me a favour and just leave this alone. And maybe leave me alone, too, because I am way too tired, and angry, and hungover for this shit!"  
"I understand that you're tired and angry - and you have every right to be. But Yuri has every right to explain herself to you, and to try to make things right. Won't you please at least hear her out?"

There was a moment of tense silence as King considered Athena's words. While it was true that Yuri had a right to try to explain herself, it was also true that King didn't have to listen to a goddamn word of it. With that in mind she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll humour her. And you, too, I guess, since this was probably your idea anyway, right?"

Athena decided not to go into details, simply giving Yuri the "go" sign instead. She raised her hand and extended her finger, lighting up the tip with a faint purple sphere. (The other guests didn't bat an eye; this was Pao Pao, after all.) Shortly after, Yuri emerged from behind a support beam and hesitantly approached the table. She lowered herself into a chair across from King with an anxious expression.

"Hi," she said quietly.  
"Talk," King responded coldly.  
"Um. Okay." Yuri took a deep breath. "It occurred to me - "  
"She _told_ you, you mean."  
"Let her finish," Athena soothed while she reached over and touched King's hand.  
"Well, it occurred to… us… that instead of saying 'sorry,' I should really be trying to earn back your trust."

King scowled at her fiercely, saying without speaking that it couldn't be done.

"So… I'm going to tell you one of _my_ secrets," Yuri went on. "A big one. Something that could really hurt me, if it got out. But, if you decide to _let_ it out… I'll accept it. I won't get mad, I won't retaliate - I'll just take my lumps. Since I… I made _you_ take some lumps. Okay?"  
"I'm pretty sure I already know everything but I'm listening," King replied.  
"Great. Thank you," Yuri sighed, beaming. "Okay. Here goes."

She took another deep breath, and then:

"...I'm about to flunk out of my English course."

Athena - who hadn't heard this ahead of time - slowly turned to her and stared.

"It's true," Yuri went on, closing her eyes. "It's kinda my second language, you know? I can deal with it _today_, but that old stuff… I just can't get it through my head. And I'll have to do it over, and I might get put on probation, and Dad'll be _furious_ 'cause he's helping me pay for i -"  
"...c'est ça?"  
"Huh?"  
"That's _it_?!" King exclaimed in disbelief. "You think _that's_ on the same level as what you let out?! Are you _fucking_ kidding me!?"  
"Miss King, please -"  
"J'en ai marre! Fuck _both_ of you!"

Fuming King abruptly pushed away from the table and stood up - then immediately sat down again. Her eyes went wide as she turned to Athena, who was looking at her with a stern, slightly strained expression. Scowling, King stood up again, only to sit back down… or, more accurately, get _pushed_ back down.

"...you really want to do this?" she asked, her voice icy death.  
"_I_ don't want to do anything," Athena replied evenly. "But I want _you_ to stay and discuss this. Yuri means well!"  
"_Fuck_ 'meaning well!'" King shot back. "How would _you_ like it if I stood up and shouted something like, hey! Everybody! The heel on one of my favorite shoes broke and Athena Asamiya was almost raped!"  
"_Shh!_ Keep your voice down…!" Athena couldn't help but plead.  
"See?! Asamiya gets it! And do you know _why_?"

Yuri didn't say anything.

"That wasn't a rhetorical question."

King moved to push her hair out of her face but let out an exasperated grunt as her hand was pushed flat against the surface of the table.

"_Really_?" she asked with a tilt of her head.  
"I'm not taking any chances, Miss King," Athena answered.  
"Ummmm… here," Yuri mumbled. She reached across the table and cautiously pushed the stray lock of hair away from King's eyes.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the waiter came back with a plate of loaded fries. He seemed to pick up on the tension and left without even offering to get Yuri a drink.

"Telling someone something like this isn't that much different than coming out," King stated flatly, "It's wildly personal - as you _know_! - and it happened to _me_. _I_ should be the one to determine who I'd like to share that with - if _anyone_. But you decided to make that decision for me, and that _sucks_!"  
"I understand, King-san - I really do," Yuri started. "Athena went through something similar to you -"  
"I'm aware."  
"- and I didn't _mean_ to tell her, but -"  
"But you did and that's why we're here today."

Yuri drew back with a grimace.

"Miss King," Athena ventured. "If I may… Yuri didn't explicitly _say_ that you were… I mean… she _started_ to, and I made the connection, but…"

King turned her head as much as she could so she could glare at Athena.

"Trop bien. It's still a violation of my trust -" she turned toward Yuri - "It's _still_ a _violation_ of my _trust_! Just like you trust me to…not… wait a second. ...That's it!"

With a derisive laugh King tried to lean back - but pressed her lips together hard when she simply couldn't. It didn't matter, though; sure, not being in control of her own actions was really annoying, but she had just realized that there really _was_ something to the conversation she had with Mary earlier in the day. Yuri was _willing_ to spill a major secret, so why not that one? After all, it was just as private as King's...

"King-san," Yuri asked very slowly, "Why are you making that face…?"  
"Why _are_ you making that face?" Athena echoed, somewhat alarmed by the sudden change in King's demeanor.  
"You want to spill secrets, Yuri? The 'tea,' if you will? I know just the one. I think your dad will find it much more interesting than your grades."  
"W-what? Which one…?"  
"I have to go home now," King told her instead of answering. "I have some decisions to make for you. So would you kindly let me go, Asamiya-_sama_...?"

Athena blinked. It wasn't so much what King had _said_ as the _way_ she'd said it. She found herself taking the pressure off, letting her target move as she wished. _Probably won't get much more out of her anyway,_ she mused.

"Thanks for the hospitality," King sneered as she stood. "Even if it _was_ for bullshit reasons. As for _you_, Yuri, you should take it instead if she'll let you. You might want to start saving your money."

With that King turned on her heel and walked off. Athena let out one more useless plea… then turned to Yuri, who was almost hyperventilating.

"What's she mean, 'money?'" she cried, grabbing Athena by the shoulders. "What is she gonna do?!"  
"Just _calm down_, Yuri. She won't hurt you like that. I've seen a new side of Miss King -"  
"You don't know her like _I_ do! Once she gets an idea in her head…!"  
"It'll be okay, I promise. If something bad _does_ happen, I'll help you in any way I can."  
"I don't _want_ help!" Yuri snapped, pushing her away. "I _want_ to know King isn't about to screw up my life!"

She burst into tears, collapsing into her arms on the table. Athena leaned over and hugged her, her face full of worry. As for King, she hadn't looked back - but she _had_ heard most everything. She reached for the door but glanced over her shoulder for just a second before looking away with a grim smile. There was no doubt in her mind that she was being "stupid and problematic," but maybe _now_ Yuri would get it.

* * *

_It's illy here to swoop in with references, reminders, whatever-whatever:_

_* Koshu wine: This is a Japanese wine made with koshu grapes, which are found almost exclusively near the base of Mt. Fuji, in the Yamanashi Prefecture._  
_* When Mary asks King about a glass case immediately following her statement about a lot of emotions, it's a reference to the movie Anchorman, in which the lead character at one point yells about being in a glass case of emotion_  
_* About Yuri and Robert at the dojo... Hey, RobertCop3. How you doin'? Winky face._  
_* Quoi ce PUTAIN = What the FUCK_  
_* King's musing about PDA on the other side of the Pao Pao Café is directly referring to events in Red's fourth chapter, where her and Vanessa get up close and personal during their meeting._  
_* A Cloudy Tokyo is basically a White Russian without the vodka_  
_* King trying to get her diet back: it's taking a little bit because bacon._  
_* C'est ça = that's it?_  
_* J'en ai marre = I've had enough_  
_* Trop bien = Very good; awesome  
* Would you kindly...? BioShock, motherfuckers! _  
_* You, the reader, are probably thinking that King has been a horrible brat through this whole thing, and I'm here to tell/remind you that she is a deeply flawed individual. She's not perfect and I am not in the business of writing perfect characters. LAYERS!_

_As always, you know the drill. Let us know what you think, or don't. I'm not telling you how to live your life though, not gonna lie, lizard brain still craves feedback. See you next time~_


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, check it out! We're not dead! :D **

**Close enough in my case though, tbh. Personal issues are creeping up on me again, and my focus is pretty much shot. Between the two, my writing motivation's in the toilet, lolweep. I do hope to finish out Hurt, but after that...well, we'll see what happens as always :) **

**And speaking of finishing Hurt: this chapter's not _quite_ the finale. It was supposed to be, honest - but our baes wouldn't shut up, lol. So now it's one last round of setup scenes, with a dash of tying up loose ends. The finale, on the other hand, should just be one big scene; this _should_ mean it comes out faster than this update, but no promises ;) **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Athena went to bed that night exhausted, despite not getting much of a workout at her training session. She fell asleep worried for Yuri, and she woke up worried for Yuri. Only after she focused on her morning routine did she realize her sleep had been blissfully dreamless again. Smiling for the first time since dinner, she pondered King's words from the day before; King still seemed pretty messed up to _her_… but maybe her subconscious knew better than she did?

After she kissed Kensou goodbye, Athena made the Sakazaki home her first priority. (...well, not quite the _first_ one; she'd gotten dangerously behind on business matters since starting this "mission".) When she arrived, she knocked on the door and found herself greeted by a t-shirt-and-jeans-clad Ryo. It caught her off-guard for a second, as she tried to remember if she'd ever seen him in anything other than a gi before.

"Oh, hey, Athena," he welcomed, looking somewhat surprised himself. "Still in town, huh?"  
"Hello, Ryo. Yeah, just taking the opportunity to catch up with friends."  
"So I've been told. You've had two meals with Yuri in three days, right?"  
"Well… yeah," said Athena, blushing a bit.  
"You here to see her again? Come on in, then."

She thanked Ryo as she stepped inside, slipping off her shoes along the way. Finding the bedrooms upstairs, Athena started to walk towards them — until she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"...yes?" Athena asked, turning around with her eyebrows raised.  
"Yuri's still pretty down today," Ryo cautioned. "Be careful with her, okay?"  
"Aww. Of course!" she promised, smiling at him.  
"Thanks," he told her, returning the smile as he pulled his hand back. "Hey, what got her so sad in the first place, anyway?"  
"...not a clue," she lied.  
"Damn," Ryo sighed. "Something weird's going on, I know it. Yuri constantly in tears, King blowing past me at the dojo… hell, _King's_ been acting funny for a long time now. I sure wish they'd let me in on what's up."

Athena smiled again, sadly this time. _So Ryo's in the dark about all this, huh…?_

Granted, she wasn't surprised: between Ryo's "traditional" values and King's on-and-off crush, he was probably the last person she wanted to know about the attack. But at the same time, his on-and-off crush and his only sibling were hurting, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"They'll snap out of it soon," she assured him, hoping she was right.  
"Hmph, they'd better. We've got a tournament to think about..."

Frowning, Athena started to scold him — until she remembered how much the Kyokugen dojo relied on tournaments for enrollments. So instead she smiled politely, then headed upstairs, wondering how she'd figure out which bedroom was Yuri's. Once she got there, though, she heard the wailing sounds of Coldplay coming from behind one of the doors.

_Well THAT isn't good_, she thought as she gave it a gentle knock.

"What?" Yuri answered irritably.  
"It's Athena. Can I come in?"  
"...Oh. Uh, sure."

Yuri turned off the music as Athena entered the room, taking a brief look around. It was a cramped little space, dominated by a full-size bed and an old desk in opposite corners. An out-of-date computer sat atop it, and knock-off knick-knacks littered the room. Either Robert didn't spend much on Yuri or she just wouldn't accept it; either way, Athena could see why a threat to her finances would be troubling.

Of course that wasn't the _only_ thing bothering Yuri. Athena watched sadly as she plopped back down on her bed, wearing the same t-shirt and shorts she'd had on the previous night. She'd gone through a comical number of tissues; if she'd had mascara on, it surely would've been running. On the plus side, she smiled a bit when she looked up at her friend.

"Thanks for dropping by," she told her.  
"I just thought you might want company," said Athena, pulling the desk chair over and taking a seat. "And I wanted to make sure you're alright."  
"Wasn't _looking_ for company, but I'll take it," Yuri shrugged. "...and no. I'm not alright."  
"Oh, Yuri…"  
"I've been thinking all night about what King could say that'd cost me money. I came up with a few options… and none of them are good."  
"I'm listening."

Yuri held out her hand, started ticking off her fingers.

"It's either A, she's gonna tell Dad about the time I crashed the car…"  
"Ooh," said Athena, wincing.  
"Tell me about it," Yuri went on. "I didn't even have my _license_ yet. I managed to convince him somebody stole it — good thing we live in Southtown — but he ended up having to get a new one. It pretty much ate up all the savings he had after working for Big. I felt awful."

"Yuri…"

Athena clutched her friend's hand, bringing back her slight smile.

"...B, she'll tell him how much I've been spending on edibles," Yuri continued.  
"On what?"  
"Edibles. You know, pot brownies and stuff?"  
"You're doing _drugs_!?" Athena gasped, her voice low and her eyes wide.  
"Well, _yeah_," Yuri exhaled, rolling her eyes. "It helps with my migraines. And it's legal here, remember?"  
"...oh, right," Athena sheepishly replied. "But you're not, ah… getting _addicted_ to them, are you?"  
"No way! They're too _expensive_ for that."  
"Ah. ...uhm. Well that's good. ...sorta."

Yuri gave a nice, long glare before moving on.

"...or C, King'll go for the throat: she'll tell Dad how much Robbie and I are 'together.'"  
"'Together?'"  
"_Together_."  
"O-oh," Athena stammered, blushing again. "But… that's not really any of his business, is it?"  
"It is if it's under his roof," Yuri countered. "Chances are good he'd kick me out. Stop helping me with college. _Disown_ me."  
"Seriously?!"  
"_Definitely_. ...I really, really hope she isn't thinking of _that_."  
"Me too," Athena somberly agreed.

Silence.

"...but enough about me, yeah?" Yuri said finally. "How're _you_ now?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"You said you hashed it out with King, right? Do you think you two are still good?"  
"I'm not sure, to be honest," Athena mused. "She didn't answer when I called her earlier, but it actually rang before I got her voicemail. So at least she hasn't re-blocked me."  
"Better than me," Yuri grumbled, as she had discovered that she _was_ blocked the night before.

There was a brief pause before Athena asked, "Do you think she's over her demons?"

Yuri looked toward the ceiling, obviously thinking about her answer.

"Yeah… Yeah, I think so," she said after a moment. "She's angry at us right now, but this is kinda a special case, you know? I mean I _do_ worry sometimes, but she's mostly okay nowadays. And I don't think something like that ever goes away _completely_."

_It doesn't_, Athena thought to herself, holding her neck where the choker she wore with her outfit should have been.

"I… _think_ I think so too," she said out loud. "She's said it, you've said it… even my subconscious seems to know it. I couldn't help Miss King get any better, but the nightmares I was having are gone."  
"Mission accomplished then," Yuri cheered, her smile wide this time. "Guess that's a wrap, huh?"  
"Hardly," Athena giggled. "I'm not heading back home until I know you two are good."  
"You'd better find an apartment then," Yuri groused.  
"Oh, I'll do it," Athena shot back, grinning. "And besides...there's still someone _I_ need to patch things up with, too..."

###

Despite giving herself plenty of time off from work like she always did whenever a KOF tournament rolled around, King found herself at Illusion — not exactly working, but not exactly taking it easy, either, as she knelt in front of the wine cooler with a pen and pad, taking inventory of what needed to be restocked.

"Bb, I swear, if you don't get out from behind that counter I am going to Dynamite Swing your ass out of this _building_," Mary called from her place at a table not too far away. Beside her sat her beau, Southtown's not-so-lone-at-the-moment-wolf, Terry Bogard.

"You should listen to her," he chimed in lazily. "Besides, working on your day off's no good."  
"He's right, Boss," said King's second-in-command, Sally, who was pouring a beer. "Lizzie and I can handle that."

King responded with a short hum as she inspected a half-full bottle of Shiraz and scribbled its name on her paper before bringing herself up to her full height. On and on she went, checking bottles, writing things down, and generally keeping to herself, though she knew that Mary was keeping a watchful eye on her.

"Okay, but seriously," the detective said, "I think we should have a team meeting before the next match."  
"Team meetings are reserved for when shit _really_ hits the fan," King answered distractedly as she made more notes. "So, why… would we… need to have one?"  
"I just think it would be a good idea to chat about a few things."

King turned around so she could see Mary (and Terry); there was something about the suggestion, and the way the other woman made her statement that gave her pause. Nevertheless, she started to respond but, without warning, the pen and pad were snatched out of her hands by Mai, who appeared literally out of nowhere on the other side of the counter.

"What the _fuck_?!" King exclaimed, startled.  
"Where the _hell_ did you come from?!" Mary yelled.

Mai laughed as she handed King's writing supplies to Sally.

"Keep these away from her," she instructed the young bartender.  
"I was almost done," King protested.  
"Boss! Chill — we've got this," Sally intoned with a gentle smile.

King made a face as she grudgingly walked out from behind the counter.

"See?" Mai took King's hands and started leading her toward the table, where _her_ beau, Andy, had seated himself. "_Del-e-gate_!"  
"C'est clair," King said as she rolled her eyes. She turned to Andy and offered him a half-smile while her and Mai seated themselves.

"Hey, Andy. Are you here to join the King-Shouldn't-Be-Working Posse, too?"  
"Well, I mean… this is your space, and if you wish to —"

A low thump from under the table interrupted Andy, whose eyes momentarily went wide.

"Y-you shouldn't be working," he mumbled.

Terry, Mary, and Mai all laughed while Andy let out a nervous chuckle. King, meanwhile, leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest while she watched the two couples converse, wishing that everyone would just let her do her own damn thing. She had so much pent up energy that she hadn't even been able to sleep all that well the night before, electing to clean her entire apartment at an absurd hour because she was so restless.

It wasn't surprising in the least, though: the aftermath of her time with Athena — and then Yuri — had left her so goddamn angry… then sad… then angry again — but with a touch of ambivalence. So, it was only natural that her chaotic emotions would beg for some sort of physical outlet; however, fighting was off the table for a few more days, fucking was _way_ off the table (hell, it wasn't even anywhere _near_ it), which left cleaning… and she had done that with such fervor that she probably freaked the hell out of the cat, who wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with her like he always did at night. The only other thing she _could_ do was work… but, thanks to her friends, she wasn't going to be able to do _that_, either. With a sigh, she ran her hands through her hair and looked up at the ceiling, tuning everyone and everything out.

"Hey, King."

King turned her attention to Terry, who was looking at her intently.

"Yes?"  
"Do you know what's going on with the Kyokugen Crew?"  
"What do you mean?" King inquired with a sinking feeling. She was certain that the conversation was about to become very uncomfortable.

"Well, word on the street is that there was some sort of blowup at their school the other day —" Terry stopped to take a quick swig of beer — "and Ryo himself said that you flipped out when you guys ran into each other."  
"I didn't 'flip out,'" King muttered.  
"You sure about that, Kingy?" Mai asked very seriously from across the table.

Mary, who was sitting with her chin resting on her folded hands, looked from Mai to King. She frowned and then fixed her eyes on Terry.

"Okay, but why did you even bring this up?" She asked loudly, and King instantly knew that she was trying to diffuse a potential situation.

"Well," Terry answered, "the Kyokugens are fighting in a few days, and I want a piece of Sakazaki this year. But it sounds like — thanks to whatever happened — the team is a wreck. If they can't pull it together they'll be knocked out of the tournament before they even get to _us_."

"That's not my problem," King replied, a little colder than intended.  
"Are you sure about _that_?" came another question from Mai.

King sighed before leaning on the table and placing her head in her hands.

"Team meeting."  
"What?" Mai and Mary asked in unison, caught off-guard by the announcement.  
"Did I _stutter_?" King asked sharply. She sat up straight and turned to the Bogards. "You guys go… over there — play some pool or something."  
"Was it something I said?" Terry asked while standing up.  
"Oh, babe," Mary told him with a sweet grin. "Of _course_ it was!"

Andy snickered as he ushered his brother past him.

"Good going."  
"Shut up…"

King waited until the siblings were all the way on the other side of the bar before turning to her teammates, who were both waiting expectantly.

"Listen," she started. "I know this thing with Yuri is bad — I _know_ that — but —"  
"Kingy," Mai interrupted. "I'm trying really hard to see this from both of your perspectives. I'm not going to take sides —"  
"Bitch, please," Mary snorted.  
" — but I'm not going to let you do something rash and impulsive, either!"

King looked across the table at Mai, wide-eyed.

"Rash and impulsive?" she asked incredulously. "That's rich coming from you!"  
"Maybe so," Mai replied coolly.  
"You guys," Mary said with a grimace.  
"No, it's fine," King asserted. "I'm not going to do anything rash _or_ impulsive. I'm going to do something that's well thought-out and put together."

And it was true: King had had a _lot_ of time to think during her impromptu cleaning spree the night before. (Maybe a little too much, really…) She had come to several conclusions about the entire situation — including when the incident first happened, even. However, sitting there at the table, she realized that the one thing she _hadn't_ really thought about was the position Mai was in as a result of everything. As Yuri's proverbial ride or die, it was only natural that the two of them would talk — about Yuri's side of things, anyway. Whereas, other than a few texts, King hadn't really chatted with Mai that much at all since they got back to Southtown...

"Kingy," Mai said candidly. "What Yuri did — she didn't mean you any harm. But I also know what keeping that secret meant to you — what it _still_ means to you. I love you both — you're my sisters — so I'm going to do the only thing that I can."  
"And… what's that?" Mary asked hesitantly.  
"...I'm going to focus on my Andy," came a matter-of-fact reply.

King blinked several times at Mai, who shut her eyes and took a deep, meditative breath while Mary slowly put her head down on the table (her forehead made a soft _thock_ as it bumped the hard top).

"Bruh," she said, her voice muffled by her hair and the wooden surface.  
"_Please_ tell me you're joking," King sighed.  
"Of course I'm joking! But I was serious about what I said before: I can — and _do_ — see both sides."

King pressed her lips together while thinking about Mai's stance… and how she was inevitably going to try to cook up some scheme designed to get her and Yuri to patch things up.

"Don't worry, Kingy," Mai smiled from across the table. "I'll focus on fighting alongside you… but I plan on supporting my friend — _our_ friend — too."  
"Friend," King scoffed bitterly.  
"But for real —" Mary raised her head and turned toward King — "Are you gonna be able to stomach being in the same place as her? Am I gonna need my taser?"  
"I'll be good."

Mai and Mary exchanged a look, obviously not convinced.

"As our leader I _have_ to be — and I _will_ be. I'm not going to let some… little… _backstabber_ get in the way of that! Now — I'm _done_ talking about this!"

With that King rose from her place and started toward the office in the back of the bar. She wanted to wash her hands of the entire Yuri problem… but, at the same time, she really _did_ want to make her squirm. Unfortunately, she had just assured her teammates that she'd refrain from doing anything foolhardy.

...Like a liar.

###

Back at her and Kensou's hotel room, Athena sat alone on the bed, calming herself as she pulled up the dialer on her phone. Of all the conversations she'd had during the week, this would undoubtedly be the most difficult. But she knew she had to have it... especially now. The rift in this relationship was bad enough _before_ she'd known it was based on a lie.

She punched in the numbers, took a deep breath, and made the call.

"Hi-hi! Who's calling please~?"  
"It's me, Mignon."  
"A-A-A-Athena!?" Mignon blurted, caught completely off-guard. "...I mean... What are you doing calling the great Beart-_sama_?!"  
"Sie told me the truth. About the 'curse'."  
"Wha —!? ...you, you mean the big _spooky_ curse Mignon was _totally_ using on you and — "  
"Stop it, Mignon," Athena cut her off. "I know you made up the whole thing."

Silence.

"...why _are_ you calling me, then?"  
"Two reasons," said Athena carefully. "First, Sie said you did that for me because you _liked_ him. Because you wanted to see him happy."  
"And you don't believe it?"  
"No, I believe it. In fact, I took him very seriously. ...which is why I want to know if you still have feelings for him."  
"'Still have feelings?'" Mignon echoed quizzically. "...what has he been telling you exactly?"  
"Uhm..."  
"Look, I don't know which of you's been blowing this out of proportion, but I don't have _feelings_ for Kensou. I just like him, okay? We had a date, it was fun, I would do it again. Doesn't mean I'm _pining_ for him. In fact I have another date this weekend."  
"Really?" Athena asked, her eyes wide.  
"Yeah. Some German cowboy or something. Dorky, but funny — like Kensou, but cuter. ...I've _kinda_ got a bad feeling about him, but we'll see how it goes."  
"I see. Well, I'm happy for you."  
"I'm sure," Mignon deadpanned (Athena could _hear_ the eye-roll). "That all you called for?"  
"Actually, in that case… the other reason I called is to thank you."  
"Huh?!"  
"It was a wonderful thing you did for Sie and me," she admitted. "It helped me through a tough time in my life, too, even if it really shouldn't have. So thank you. And I'm sorry for attacking you."

_Long_ silence.

"...um. That's — okay I guess? ...and you're welcome? ...wow."  
"Yeah, this's pretty weird for me too," Athena chuckled.  
"Well it doesn't change anything, alright?" Mignon huffed. "You and I are still rivals."  
"Oh, I know," Athena agreed (with an eye-roll of her own). "Maybe we'll settle it at King of Fighters someday."  
"...not if you keep losing in the first round we won't."  
"So _that's_ how it is, huh? I've never seen _you_ get past any qualifiers."  
"That's only because I can't find any partners."  
"Is that so...?" Athena mused. "Well, a couple of my old teammates are just _itching_ to give KOF another go. Interested?"  
"...Mignon's listening..."

She gave Mignon the details; Mignon said she'd think about it. (Athena would have to ask the kids anyway. And make sure they could take care of themselves.) Finally, she hung up the phone with an unexpected smile; the call was much easier than she'd thought it would be.

"'Still have feelings for me', huh...?"

Athena jumped about a foot in the air. She whirled around to find Kensou, standing near the doorway and smirking.  
"When did you get here?" she said sheepishly.  
"About when you started the call," he said wolfishly. "You were just too busy to hear me."  
"O-oh. Well, I...I'm sorry, Sie — "  
"No need to apologize," Kensou assured her, sitting beside her and putting an arm around her shoulder. "I'm just happy you cleared things up. And I'm glad you two are friends again. Mignon can get pretty nasty sometimes… but she's still a great gal."  
"...yeah. Yeah, she is," Athena said with a smile — and without a trace of jealousy in her heart.

###

It was a little later when King sat at the desk in Illusion's small office, head at a near ninety-degree angle, trying to balance a pencil on the tip of her nose in an effort to take a small break from looking over paperwork and paying the establishment's utility bills for the month.

Mary and the others had left not too long after the team meeting, which gave King the opportunity to distract herself with more busy work. However, she couldn't help thinking about what Terry had said — namely about the Kyokugens being a "wreck" and Ryo saying that she "flipped out" at the school — and found herself wondering _exactly_ how much Ryo and Robert actually knew about _anything_. After all, Yuri had _sworn_ she would never tell either of them (or her father… or anyone else...) about the rape, and, yet, she had let Athena in on the secret with very little to no thought about how it might affect her. And, now, all bets were off: there was a very real chance that Yuri had cried about it to Robert, who would _definitely_ tell his bestest bro, who would _definitely_ see her as —

At that moment the pencil tipped over, fell to the floor, and rolled under the desk, only to be stopped by King's foot. She took a shaky breath as she leaned over to pick it up, the beginnings of a stress headache setting in. Her temples were starting to throb so much that she barely even registered the sound of the door opening, or the heels clicking against the hard surface.

"Why the hell are you here?"

Sally's identical twin sister, Elizabeth, stood over King, one hand on her waist, an impatient look on her face.

"I _own_ the place," King replied as she straightened up in her seat, the pencil in her hand. "Hello to you, too, by the way."

Elizabeth briskly removed her purse and set it down on top of a nearby filing cabinet. King watched her, mystified as to how she turned out to be so radically different from her sister: While Sally was amicable and considerate, Elizabeth was churlish and disagreeable; it made for some very interesting (read: frustrating) times, particularly when it was just the two of them.

"That's not an answer, _Boss_," Elizabeth pointed out.  
"I don't have to explain myself to you…"  
"No, but I don't want you hanging around and complaining while I try to close up later."  
"I'll be gone before then."  
"Good. Because I'm not in the mood to deal with your bullshit baggage today."  
"I beg your fucking pardon?!" King shouted as she quickly turned in her seat to face her employee.

"What? Here on your day off… dressed all —" Elizabeth gestured toward King's cat-hair-covered skinny jeans and thin, battered tee — "like that… bags under your eyes... Being on the outs with little Yuri is really getting to you, huh?"  
"How do you know about that? Sally?"  
"Well, her and Garcia."

King did a double take.

"_Robert_?! When —?!"  
"He was just here — looking for _you_," Elizabeth informed her. "Sal told him you weren't around, but before he left he mentioned that you and Yuri were fighting."

At that, Elizabeth nonchalantly lowered herself onto the loveseat against the far wall and fixed her icy eyes on King.

"So what'd she do?"  
"It's not your concern."  
"Sure it is. Because Sal and I always have to pick up the slack when you have any of your little crises."  
"For the record, this isn't little," King grumbled. "She… never mind. Go to work."  
"It's never little, is it?" Elizabeth asked.  
"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"  
"It means there's always something with you. You try to hide behind a cool facade, but honestly? You're just a messy bitch who lives for drama."

King squinted at Elizabeth, trying hard to keep her temper in check.

"You know us French," she said through gritted teeth, fed up. "We love our drama. By the way — you're fired."  
"On what grounds?"  
"Insubordination. Now go."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes but didn't move from her seat.

"Je suis si sérieux _putain_!" King yelled while pointing at the door. "Get out!"  
"You're only saying that because I struck a nerve."

With a deep sigh King crossed her arms over her chest. Much to her dismay, Elizabeth was right: she lashed out because she _had_, in fact, struck a nerve. She pressed her lips together very hard while fixing her eyes on the floor.

"...just get to work," she mumbled after a minute.

Elizabeth stood; she smoothed her skirt and considered King very carefully.

"_Look_," she said, something that sounded _almost_ like concern in her voice, "it's not the end of the world. Remember — you've made it through worse. So whatever's going through that thick head of yours? And whatever… _drama_ you're having with Yuri? Try to be rational about it. And move your therapy sessions back to once a week."

At that, Elizabeth sauntered out of the office, leaving King at the desk, pensive. Yuri spilling her secret probably wasn't the end of the world… and she _had_ been through worse… but that didn't stop it from being fucking _devastating_. Yuri was one of her closest friends — but she simply couldn't trust her anymore. Not after this. And now that Athena (and more than likely Kensou) knew about it, the chances of it getting out were higher than ever. And if that happened…

King sighed as she mulled it all over.

At this point it was hard to tell what "rational" even looked like anymore.

* * *

_Ayyyyyy! We're back... ish._

_But! We're on homestretch! Anyway, there aren't really any notes here. C'est clair = Yeah, I know!; "Je suis si sérieux putain!" = I am so fucking serious!_

_Also, quick reminder that Elizabeth found out about the incident during Oxygen to Breathe (thanks, Mr. Big!) On the subject of Elizabeth, her and King straight up don't like each other, and she is legit always on the verge of being fired._

_And... I think that's it for the "notes" this chapter! Tune in next time, when... well, you'll just have to find out!_

_As always, validation fuels lizard brain. Cheers~!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey all, we're not dead! ...wait, it's only been a week? O_o **

**Yeah, turns out the last break was a fluke; we've got our mojos back now. Good thing, too: December's gonna be pretty sparse for me, for personal reasons. I might have enough time for a shortfic or something, but that's it. So I'm glad we managed to finish this first. _This_ was the important one. **

**Thanks for following along with this last gasp of the Deal continuity, heh. No promises what I'll do next; no _idea_, even. Whatever it is, here's hoping you'll follow along with that too :) See you next time!**

* * *

Several days later King sat alone on a locker room bench, meticulously unbuttoning her vest.

The Women's Team had already fought — and won: King and Mary made short work of their respective opponents, and while King hadn't gone as hard as she did against Athena, her violent tendencies still shone through via plenty of dislocated joints and hairline fractures. It had been cathartic — almost _euphoric _, even — to finally unleash every bit of anger and sadness she had tried to stuff down during the week against the poor bastard she found herself squaring off against. And, although she was hit with a good shot or two, her injuries were really more bothersome than any anything else. Regardless, her teammates had gone off to find their significant others before the next match, which featured none other than the Kyokugen Team.

The Kyokugen Team, which was still, as King understood it, struggling to get its shit together.

With a quiet sigh she shrugged out of her vest before removing her cuff links from her sleeves so that she could roll them up. She stowed the little green studs in her pocket and removed her bow tie and cummerbund before untucking her shirt, all the while staring straight ahead at Yuri's gym bag, which was sticking out of a half-open locker across the room.

There was no question that King was still intensely upset with Yuri. However, she was no longer _seething _with rage toward the other woman; she was just… drained. She honestly wished things could go back to the way they were — when Yuri was a trusted companion, and not… whatever she was now. "Enemy" was too strong a word… but she couldn't call her a "friend" anymore, either. (Of course, if she continued with her mind games, _she _would probably fall into the enemy category, which was a depressing thought for sure.)

King stood up. She placed her discarded clothing in her own locker, walked over to a nearby mirror, and splashed some water on her face. She scowled while fixing her gaze on her forehead: she had taken a nasty bop to the head — directly over her scar. The skin was puffy and bruising, which reminded her of how the skin surrounding the gash looked when it was still healing, which then made her wonder if Yuri had shared the details of the ugly beating she took that night as well. _That _thought made her angry. With a deep breath she quickly turned on her heel and exited the area, more determined than ever to make Yuri _understand _.

###

"All right, Yuri girl. You ready for this?"

Yuri looked at herself in a full-length mirror, her eyes moving up and down over her reflection.

"...no. Absolutely not," she sighed, finally looking down at the floor.  
"You'd better be!" Ryo called from across the room.

She scowled at her brother for a moment before turning back to her image. The mirror was located in the green room — along with Yuri and her teammates. Some thoughtful soul had set the looking glass up for anyone who wanted one last check before going out into battle… but it was pretty useless for _her _, as primping and preening seemed impossible today. She couldn't even concentrate enough to get her belt on properly. (She'd made _great _use of the Cheez Doodles some _less _thoughtful soul had put out, though.)

"I'm serious, Yuri," Ryo went on, a little more sternly. "We've got a lot riding on this."  
"Don't you think I know that!?"  
"Yeah, but I don't think you _care_. This's a great team we're up against; Robert especially got a tough draw — "  
"Hey —" Robert began to protest but Ryo went on, completely ignoring him.  
" — and we may need your win to advance."  
"I _care _, brother," Yuri snapped, rolling her eyes. "I've just got a lot on my mind now, okay?"  
"What? _What _is on your mind?"  
"...oh, forget it," she said absently, _still _struggling with her belt. "You wouldn't get it anyway..."

Before things could escalate, someone knocked at the back door. As all three of them startled, the entry opened to reveal none other than Athena, wearing her warmest smile. Robert started to joke that not waiting for an answer was impolite — but went silent as Yuri rushed into the girl's arms.

"You came!" she gushed, sounding happy for the first time in days.  
"Of course I did," said Athena, winking. "I said I'd cheer you on, didn't I?"  
"Ha! So where've you been _so _far?" Yuri teased with a playful shove.  
"Well, I had to cheer King on too, after all."

Athena winced as Yuri instantly deflated.

"Oh. King," she mumbled with a grimace. "So, she won her match, huh?"  
"She did, yes."  
"Maybe she'll be in a good mood, then..."

As the two went on (now very quietly so the men couldn't hear), Ryo gave Robert a grimace of his own.

"There, you see? _She _gets to know what's happening. _She _gets to console her. But her own brother? Nope!"  
"It's just girl talk, man. Let it go."  
"Yeah but —"  
"No."

"It's going to be okay, Yuri," Athena finished. "Win or lose, spill or no spill, it'll be okay."  
"What, are you a fortune teller, too?"  
"Nah, couldn't hack it," she giggled. "I just have _faith_, that's all. Things worked out for me, and they'll work out for you. Just have faith."  
"...I'll try…"

The conversation conveniently ended there, as the announcer started introducing the Kyokugen Team. Ryo left immediately, barking at the others to follow; Robert sighed and shook his head, then did as he was told. As Yuri did the same, Athena wished her good luck… and then picked up and handed her the belt that fell off as she was walking away.

"Agh, I'm a _mess_," Yuri moaned.  
"Don't worry about it. You'll do great! Really!"

Yuri nodded, but left looking entirely unconvinced. With a sigh of her own, Athena went back out the door she came through and started heading for her seat… which was halfway across the arena.

_I wonder if anyone'll scream if I use Teleports on the way... _

###

King strolled through the stands, where she could hear the hushed whispers of numerous spectators as she passed by them, shoulders squared and head held up high despite how agitated she felt. She looked around, and, after a moment, spotted her target. Takuma Sakazaki was sitting front and center, eating a bag of popcorn while listening to the perky MC, who was in the ring jabbering on about… something. King shook her head (where did they _find _this woman?) and then made a beeline toward the older man, who was focused on the raised platform, where his children and star student were making what could only be described as the exact opposite of a grand entrance:

Ryo led the team, looking positively annoyed as Robert trailed after him, forcing a smile and lazily waving at the onlookers although he was clearly nonplussed. Bringing up the rear was Yuri, who appeared downright pitiful while she trudged forward, haphazardly tying her belt, her gi wrinkled and hair bedraggled.

King pressed her lips together as she quietly lowered herself into the seat next to Takuma (she didn't care if it was assigned to another VIP; _she _was a VIP goddamnit) and folded her hands in her lap, her back rigid against the hard metal. Seeing Yuri so downtrodden — so obviously not herself — was difficult. Even worse was that she knew it was her fault. But! Yuri had brought it on herself: this situation could have been avoided had she just kept her word! How could she have been so careless in the first place?! Thinking about it again was starting to annoy King, so she took a breath and willed herself to keep cool. After all, this was —

"King! Hey!"

King involuntarily jumped when Takuma finally noticed her. She tore her eyes away from the trio in the ring, cleared her throat, and put on the biggest, happiest smile she could muster.

"Salut," she said casually, confident in her ability to hide her _real _emotions.  
"I didn't even see you there," Takuma laughed. "Here to cheer those chuckleheads on, eh?"  
"I'm rooting for the other team," King joked.

Takuma raised his eyebrows before extending his bag of popcorn out toward King, who politely declined. The two made some small talk before falling silent to listen to the MC as she started introducing everyone one-by-one. It didn't take long for King to realize that Takuma was staring not at the contenders, but at her.

"Yes…?"  
"Yuri's synergy with Ryo and Robert has been greatly disrupted by whatever it is that's going on between you two," Takuma told her very seriously. "As a martial artist she must learn to push trivial concerns aside and focus on her opponent. If she fails to do that today… I'm holding you personally responsible."  
"Yuri's a big girl," King shot back. "She's responsible for her own actions, and if she can't pull it together that's _her _problem — not mine."

Takuma peered at King thoughtfully before saying, "You're hiding something."

King narrowed her eyes; of _course _she was hiding something. Hell, when _wasn't _she hiding something? She opened her mouth to speak… but then caught sight of a purple glint not too far from where she was sitting.

"You've _got _to be fucking kidding me…!"

###

It turned out that the VIP seat next to Takuma's was Athena's.

She headed down the aisles unknowingly, moving as fast as the rabid crowds would let her. As she got closer she managed to recognize the man, thanks to his size and off-white gi; however, it didn't even occur to her that the blonde next to him might be King — until she turned and looked at her, dead in the eyes.

Athena froze, a deer in the headlights once more. King didn't take nearly as long to react, her face quickly going from shock to absolute fury… and then, unsettlingly enough, to something that almost seemed _calm_. She then turned and animatedly started talking to Takuma.

Athena didn't know what to do. Every fiber of her being was _screaming _for her to stop King… but her memories of Yuri and Kensou and Chin were shouting, "_Noooooo!_" She very nearly ignored them; if she hadn't already stopped, she might have dismissed them altogether.

Instead, Athena Asamiya, world-famous Girl Scout and world-class meddler, sat her ass down in an empty seat and waited to see what happened.

...a seat close enough to _hear _what happened, of course.

###

"You know what? You're right," King said abruptly, her voice high and clear. "I _am _hiding something. It's about Yuri, and it's important."

Takuma quirked a bushy brow in curiosity… but with a touch of impatience.

"The match is starting! Can't it wait until after?!"  
"No —" King's eyes momentarily flicked toward Athena, who looked like she was witnessing a murder, then to Yuri, who was on the opposite side of the ring, and then back to Takuma — "it can't wait. I need you to know now."

A loaded silence set in as Takuma looked to King expectantly. She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced down at her feet (was that blood smeared on her shoe?) before glancing at Yuri, who was watching her with a terrified expression from across the area. It was actually pretty horrible… and in that moment, King knew _exactly _what she was going to do. She flashed a wan smile and sighed as she fixed her gaze right back down again.

"Forget it," she mumbled.  
"No," Takuma replied, his eyes trained on the ring. "If you know something about my little girl that I don't, then you must tell me! Her entire performance here could be riding on it! Now! What did you need to —"  
"I was raped," King blurted out miserably, her heart _pounding_. "By one of Big's men…!"  
"_What?_" Takuma asked as he briefly tore his focus away from the fight.  
"_Raped,_" King exacted in English as her feelings of residual shame started to surface. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I was raped by one of Big's men — last summer. Yuri was there… she — she helped me a lot…"

King chanced a look at Yuri, who was watching her attentively, an expression that was somewhere between shocked and concerned on her face. It abruptly occurred to her that one of Yuri's more random skills was — of all things — lip reading.

"Yuri's… a good… she's a good person," King went on, fully aware that Yuri probably knew most of what was being said. "She would skip class so she could come over to check on me, or buy groceries when I couldn't bear to get out of bed… and she was just so… she never let it affect how she saw me, even on the bad days —" King threw her head back (her neck actually popped from the force of the movement) — "_God_, I'm such an _asshole_…!"

Takuma briefly turned back to the fight — he winced as Robert took a hard punch to the gut — before setting his dark eyes on King. He squinted at her with a very serious expression... and then started to laugh.

"Oh, King," he said jovially as he clapped a hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to make up stories to assure me that my daughter is a good egg!"  
"I — wh-what...?" King stammered, bringing herself upright.  
"Something like that could never happen to _you_! You'd never let it!"

King made a strange choking noise before hastily turning away. She had just told Takuma Sakazaki about what happened to her at the hands of a common enemy… and he didn't believe it?! Unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, she pressed her lips together, squeezed her eyes shut, and brought a hand up to her head, which was beginning to hurt badly, not from the bump she had taken earlier, but from the tension headache that was rapidly setting in.

"It can happen to _any_one," she said, her voice a little shaky. "Whether or not you want to believe it is your thing, but it happened to me, and Yuri was there from the very beginning! She brought me home from the hospital, and she tried to cheer me up with pot brownies and comedies, and she even stopped having so much sex with Robert so she could make… time… to…"

King slowly trailed off as she realized what she had just said. She felt heat creeping up her neck, into her cheeks as Takuma's jaw clenched so tightly that she surely thought he was going to break it.

"_What _... did... you... _say..._?"  
"I-it's... I mean..."

King tried to think of a way to salvage that sentence, but it was clear that nothing she could say would calm Takuma down. All at once she felt like she was going to vomit under the now very pissed off man's hard-nosed stare. Mortified by her own tendency to talk way too much at weird moments, she stood up and raced back to the locker room without another word.

###

Meanwhile, Athena had heard it all... and now she was _seeing _it all.

She saw King, tearing off for the locker rooms after her mistake.

She saw Takuma, nearly going into apoplexy.

She saw Yuri, who _clearly _knew what happened somehow, staring over at her father with an open mouth and wide eyes.

She saw Robert, unbeknownst to all of them, losing his match.

...okay, _now _she could meddle.

###

_Mister Sakazaki. _

The sudden voice in Takuma's head drove his anger right out the window. Gasping, he looked around frantically for the source: the only possibility he found was Athena Asamiya, whom he knew had psychic powers and was sitting near the end of the row. But _she _was still staring at Yuri, her eyes wide as saucers and her hands clasped to her mouth —

_Yes, this is Athena_.

Takuma stood up to yell at her, but she beat him to the punch:

_I saw what just happened, _she told him. _You just heard something very scary _— _maybe even devastating. You have every right to be angry, since Yuri's been hiding something from you. But there's something else you don't know: Robert just lost. _

Takuma blinked. He looked away from Yuri (who now appeared more confused than anything else), and it was true — Robert had gone down _hard _. He groaned and clutched his side, needing Ryo's help to get up. However, before Takuma could think anything but " _good, _" Athena was in his head again.

_If you want your children to stay in this tournament, Yuri HAS to win. And there's no way she'll do that if you blow up at her now. Scream at her later, figure out what's going on later... but for now, BE THERE FOR HER. Show her this isn't the end. _

The last words brought Takuma up short. "The end?" Did Yuri really think this meant _the end _between them? It meant the end of _Robert _, of course — but Yuri was still his little girl. Always would be. And as he looked at her again, saw the tears streaming down her face, he realized Athena was right: she needed to _know _it.

With all the patience and zen of a martial arts master, Takuma took a deep, calming breath. He shoved the anger down as much as he could… curled his face into a rictus grin… and, through gritted teeth, called out to Yuri:

"Good luck out there."

For a moment, the shocked elation on her face chased off the anger completely. Takuma smiled at Yuri and she _grinned _back, pumping her fist into the air. "You bet, Dad!" she exclaimed. And then she sprung into the ring, and woe be it to the fool unlucky enough to face her.

As Takuma settled down into a slow-boiling rage, he looked at Athena and grunted.

_You're welcome, _she giggled (and wasn't _that _strange to "hear.")

###

King sat on the floor of a toilet stall with her hands covering her face, her headache made ten times worse from the noise outside and the fact that she had just finished puking. It sounded like the fight was over, though she had no idea who won, as the MC's announcement of the victors hadn't registered thanks to her own retching, as well as her tumultuous thoughts about what had gone down. Not only had she metaphorically bled out in a crowd of people, but she had fucked Yuri over without even _wanting _to; even if the Kyokugens were the winners, their battle would be far from over, as the wrath of Takuma Sakazaki would surely annihilate all in its path — particularly one Robert Garcia.

It occurred to her then that the horror she felt at her own actions was probably (hopefully) exactly what Yuri had felt when she told Athena about the incident. Goddamn, did the Universe have an interesting sense of humour…

"KING-SAN!"

Just then the door to the locker room burst open, and in ran a slightly roughed up but ecstatic Yuri. King immediately jumped to her feet and exited the stall, ready to strike if needed as the younger woman ran straight at her, but was completely caught by surprise when she was nearly tackled in a huge bear hug.

"Wh-what —?!"  
"I saw! I saw what you did back there," Yuri exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"

King honestly didn't know what the hell she was; well enough, she supposed. However, before she could even begin to answer the question the door to the area swung open, and in dashed her teammates, who both appeared slightly winded but, more importantly, terribly vexed.

"What did you do?!" Mary demanded.  
"We _saw _you talking to Takuma," Mai added frantically. "And then we saw him yelling at Yuri after the match!"

Yuri let go of King and spun on her heel to face the others.

"Chill out, guys," she said matter-of-factly, "King-san didn't _mean _to say anything to my dad about Robbie and I. It just sort of..."  
"Slipped out," King spoke up while crossing her arms over her chest. "It slipped out when I told him _my _secret."

Mary's face contorted in worry while Mai's jaw dropped.

"What —?"  
"Why would you _tell _him that?"

King looked down at the floor and drew in a deep breath.

"Don't get me wrong… I'm still a little upset," she said while bringing her eyes up to Yuri's face. "What you did… it wasn't okay. And I… I wanted you to understand — to really _get _it. But I had no intention of actually telling your father about that — or about _that _, either. I wanted you to _think _that I would do it, and in the beginning I _really _wanted to, but that would have been terrible, even for me. And then I actually _did _do it — albeit accidentally — and now I think _I _get it. So… I'm sorry."

Yuri stared up at King, obviously a little sad, but also resolute.

"I understand why you're upset. You trusted me, and I stupidly… well, you know. So... I'm sorry, too."

Silence descended on the room.

King frowned; she squinted down at nothing in particular as she started to well up a little bit. It was clear that Mary noticed, as she hastily walked over to her and placed a supportive hand on her back. At the same time, Mai lowered herself onto a bench and crossed her legs while regarding Yuri with uneasy curiosity.

"Hey, Yuri…? What happened with your dad?"  
"Well," Yuri answered, "he's really angry, of course. He said he's gonna kill Robbie if he sees him outside of our matches. But — "  
"Your matches?" King cut her off. "So you won?"  
"Sure did," Yuri chirped, smiling while unconsciously rubbing a bruise. "Dad kept it together _just _long enough for us to kick their butts. He even wished me good luck before my match! I think… I think things'll be okay between us."

There was a collective sigh of relief from the Women's Team.

"He _did _say he needed time to 'process', though," Yuri went on, her smile fading. "So I probably shouldn't go home just yet…"

King furrowed her brow, dismayed by how badly she had probably fucked things up for the Sakazakis. She looked over at Yuri and Mai, who were talking among themselves and pressed her lips together.

"You can stay with me," she spoke up after a moment.

Everyone stared at King, who let out a tired sigh.

"What? You can use Jean's room... And you won't have to worry about hearing me fucking anyone."  
"She's got a point," Mary chimed in with a snicker.  
"Are-are you sure?" Yuri asked, her voice full of amazement.  
"Yes, but I reserve the right to kick you out — literally — at any time."

Yuri broke into a brilliant grin.

"Deal!"

###

Hours later, King sat on her sofa with a glass of wine and her cellphone while Yuri rested on the floor in front of the coffee table rubbing Tiger Balm into her shoulder, a plate of half-eaten pizza before her.

The pair had spent some time talking about, well, everything. There were a couple of heated exchanges, as well as some tears, but in the end they realized that their friendship was too strong to just throw away over a slip of the tongue or two. However, there was one caveat: Because of King's numerous issues with trusting people, Yuri was going to have to work — hard — to earn it back.

"Everything's fine," King assured Mary via text. "We've talked it out and it's all copacetic."

The little ellipses appeared on the screen, indicating that Mary was typing up her response. It took forever, but, finally, a text bubble popped up that only said, "K"

King made a face. She replied with a middle finger emoji, followed by a kissy face, and put the phone down.

"Hey, King-san," Yuri started.  
"_Please _drop the 'san,'" King told her before she could continue. "It's so formal and it makes me feel weird."  
"Fine," Yuri mock pouted. She stared at the ceiling, contemplative, for just a moment before speaking again. "You're Céccy now."

King quirked a brow.

"Céccy…?"  
"Céccy."  
"... Not in public," King said after a moment. "I have an image to uphold."  
"You mean that whole androgyny angle? Dude, even without makeup on it's _obvious _that you're a woman," Yuri informed her with a pointed look. "Besides, we live in a day and age where the whole LGBT-thing is totally acceptable —"  
"Mostly."  
"— so you don't have to be manly to pick up chicks!"  
"Who says I'm trying to pick up chicks?"  
"Well you're definitely not hooking up with any _dudes _these days," Yuri said with a wrinkled brow. "Are you sure you're not _totally _gay…?"  
"Why don't you come over here and find out?" King teased while patting the seat next to her.

Yuri suddenly stopped rubbing her shoulder and very quickly looked away, her face a deep scarlet. King raised her eyebrows at her reaction, which was a bit unusual. If she didn't know any better she would think —

At that moment, a loud, somewhat catchy J-Pop song started blaring from Yuri's phone. King instantly recognized the voice singing as none other than her _favourite _busybody, Athena. She took a long gulp of her wine and watched as Yuri cheerfully picked the gadget up and answered the call.

"Hey! Are you on your way to the airport?"

"I'm already here," came Athena's reply. "But we're not boarding for another half-hour, so I thought I'd use the free WiFi to FaceTime you. It's not a bad time, is it?"  
"Psshhh, no," Yuri answered. "Cé — King-sa — _King _and I are just eating pizza."  
"Oh, you're at Miss King's?"

Yuri nodded enthusiastically. She stood up, walked over to the sofa, and plopped down next to King, who nearly spilled the remainder of her wine as she was pulled into the frame so Athena could see her.

"Hi," Athena said with a wave.  
"Hi," King answered tersely. She still didn't know how to feel about Athena: On one hand, she had been inside her head, pried about the assault, and then invited her to dinner with an ulterior motive. On the other, she only did those things (the accidental mind-probe notwithstanding) out of a desire to help. With that in mind, King cleared her throat and gave a polite smile.

"Come over," she said amicably. "We're going to do our nails and talk about boys."  
"Like my brother?" Yuri asked with a devilish grin.  
"That's not a thing," King snapped. How she hated it when people teased her about Ryo! It was a little kindasortanotreallymaybe crush that she had been over for a long time. Why couldn't it just die already?!

"You know, it's so nice that you're letting Yuri stay with you, Miss King," Athena spoke up happily (and loudly).  
"Yeah, well… it's the least I can do."  
"King-sa — King is a big teddy bear," Yuri affirmed while resting her head on King's shoulder.  
"Oh, I know. I've seen her with her cat."

King made a face while Athena and Yuri started giggling with one another.

"See, Yuri?" Athena went on. "I told you everything would work out!"  
"Yeah, I guess you did…"  
"In fact, you might be kinda lucky. Some people go months — even years — before things fall into place."  
"Yeah," Yuri replied. "...and _some _people need a fake curse to do it _for _them."

At that, Athena made a face of her own before putting on a sweet smile. At the same time, King adjusted herself so she could look over at Yuri.

"Wow. Yuri with the snark…!"  
"It's okay," Athena said over Yuri's snickering. "Maybe our resident addict just needs a fix?"  
"You might actually be right," came Yuri's reply. "I really put in some work today…"  
"Oh, brother," Athena laughed. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. And Miss King… I truly am sorry for everything I put you through."  
"Thanks," King responded carefully. "I'm sorry about your back. And about being such a bitch."

A loud voice boomed over the PA at the airport then, which prompted Athena to stop talking and listen for a moment.

"Oh! We're boarding early!"  
"Go go go," Yuri commanded her. "And call me when you get home!"  
"Will do. Bye!"

With that Yuri ended the call. She got up, placed her phone down, and started toward her suitcase, which was still by the door.

"What are you doing?" King asked.  
"I was serious about taking a little something for the pain," Yuri answered with a frown. She rummaged through her bag and produced a package of gummy candy. She began opening it but then stopped and turned to King, who shot her a quizzical glance.

"Want some?"  
"How do I know that you won't give me more than I can handle again?"  
"Oh, Céccy," Yuri told her with a smile. She crossed the room and held out a single candy.

"You're just gonna have to trust me."

* * *

_Wow, you guys. As always, it's me, illy, with some end notes:_

_* We didn't really think of who the opponents for the respective teams would be, so, like... use your imagination(s)._  
_* Salut = super casual, friendly way to say hello_  
_* Reminder that it's been established in other fics that King's impulsiveness will often manifest as talking too much/saying the wrong thing. It's also been established that if she gets too stressed out, she pukes. But if you've been going here long enough you know that stuff so... :D_  
_* KingxRyo: Sorry, folks. Not happening in my house. There have been allusions to her struggling with residual feels here and there but, like... no. King is Vanessa's girl LOL_  
_* Yuri's not really an addict. That was jokes. She is bi-curious, tho._

_Okay, then! That's officially a wrap on Hurt! Thank you all so much for sticking by Mads and I while we worked to put this out! Hopefully you enjoyed the ride! I guess I'll see you all around. Cheers~!_


End file.
